Ever since Grand Theft Auto made the jump to 3D back in 2001, the outrageously popular video game franchise has given gamers some of the most cinematic gaming experiences of all time. While the stories, graphics, and sandbox open worlds have certainly helped in this regard, a lot of that “cinema” quality comes from the games’ A-list casts.

Here are 32 celebrities who appeared in Grand Theft Auto games, be it as a protagonist (or antagonist most of the time) or as DJs for the franchise’s iconic radio stations. There is a lot to go over, so let’s get to it…

Samuel L. Jackson (Frank Tenpenny)

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas took the franchise to new heights back in 2004, and a lot of that was due to the show-stealing performance by Samuel L. Jackson as crooked Los Santos police officer and primary antagonist Frank Tenpenny. The corrupt cop, who made life miserable for protagonist Carl “CJ” Johnson, was a villain you loved to hate.

Ray Liotta (Tommy Vercetti)

Before the late Ray Liotta voiced Tommy Vercetti in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City in 2002, none of the protagonists had a voice, or personality for that matter. That all changed when gamers took control of the revenge-driven mobster and walked the neon-lit streets and crowded beaches of this landmark game.

Burt Reynolds (Avery Carrington)

The supporting casts in each of the Grand Theft Auto games have been just as legendary as the primary heroes and villains, and the late Burt Reynolds helped make Grand Theft Auto: Vice City one of the best in this regard. His portrayal of cowboy land developer Avery Carrington was lights out. It’s just a shame we didn’t get more.

William Fichtner (Ken Rosenberg)

In addition to showing up in most of Michael Bay’s best movies, William Fichtner has appeared in a pair of the best Grand Theft Auto games. First introduced as anxiety-ridden and paranoid attorney Ken Rosenberg in Vice City, Fichtner would reprise the role in San Andreas, where Ken was just as insane.

Joe Pantoliano (Luigi Goterelli)

Joe Pantoliano, aka Joey Pants, was just one of many actors known for playing mobsters to show up in Grand Theft Auto III with his portrayal of Luigi Goterelli. The club owner, who is the first to give silent protagonist Claude some work in Liberty City, was made all the better by Pantoliano’s explosive dialogue.

Michael Madsen (Toni Cipriani)

The late Michael Madsen, best known for his work in some of Quentin Tarantino’s best movies, had a supporting role in Grand Theft Auto III. Madsen’s Toni Cipriani, a high-ranking member of the Leone Family crime syndicate, was a major player in the early goings of the game.

Cara Delevingne (DJ Cara)

Though Cara Delevingne’s character is never seen in Grand Theft Auto V, DJ Cara is one of the most engaging and hilarious DJs on the game’s vast collection of radio channels. Her transitions and commentary between tracks for Non Stop Pop FM are worth checking out, even if you don’t want to play the game.

Kyle MacLachlan (Donald Love)

Donald Love, the morally ambiguous owner of Love Media and Liberty City developer who gives the player some wild missions along the way, was voiced by Kyle MacLachlan in Grand Theft Auto III. Willing to do anything and everything to obtain power and money, Love was one of the strangest and most mysterious characters of the franchise.

Dennis Hopper (Steve Scott)

It’s hard to imagine anyone but Dennis Hopper providing the voice of Steve Scott in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. The shark-obsessed and ambitious adult film director was one of the main allies Tommy Vercetti made along the way, even if his missions got out of hand!

Philip Michael Thomas (Lance Vance)

Lance Vance started as one of Tommy Vercetti’s most trusted allies, only to become his biggest rival in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City when he wanted a larger slice of the pie. Having the character voiced by Miami Vice star Philip Michael Thomas was just one of the many callbacks to the iconic ‘80s show.

Chris Penn (Eddie Pulaski)

Chris Penn played secondary antagonist Eddie Pulaski, one of the crooked C.R.A.S.H. officers, in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Officer Tenpenny’s right-hand man, this diabolical cop went to great lengths to get under CJ’s skin.

Debbie Harry (Doris)

Legendary punk and fashion icon Debbie Harry showed up in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City when she provided the voice of Doris. The Blondie singer did a great job of giving the Kaufman Cab dispatcher a whole lot of attitude, which led to some great interactions with Tommy Vercetti.

Danny Trejo (Umberto Robina)

Danny Trejo was already on his way to becoming one of the most well-known character actors in Hollywood when he portrayed Cuban gang leader Umberto Robina in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. The crime boss gave Tommy Vercetti a number of missions throughout the midsection of the 2002 game.

Katt Williams (Himself)

Grand Theft Auto IV didn’t see as many celebrities voicing characters as previous iterations, but there were still a fair number of big stars in the game. In the case of Katt Williams, the comedian played himself in one of the in-game stand-up routines that protagonist Niko Bellic could watch throughout the game.

Jason Sudeikis (Richard Bastion)

Long before he played Ted Lasso (both in those wild NBC commercials and the popular Apple TV+ series), Jason Sudeikis played a very different type of American character in Grand Theft Auto IV. Sudeikis, who was still on SNL at the time, voiced Richard Bastion, the host of a right-wing call-in show on WKTT talk radio.

Wil Wheaton (Various Characters)

Stand By Me and Star Trek: The Next Generation star Wil Wheaton voiced various characters in the Grand Theft Auto universe. In 2004’s San Andreas, Wheaton was the voice of Richard Burns, a reporter for WCTR, a role he reprised in Liberty City Stories the following year. He would also voice an alien in Grand Theft Auto V.

Ricky Gervais (Himself)

Ricky Gervais brought his brand of comedy to the digital world in Grand Theft Auto IV when he performed an extended stand-up routine in one of Liberty City’s comedy clubs. The 10-minute in-game activity has the comedian’s signature wit and knack for telling uncomfortable jokes in a hilarious way.

Michael Rapaport (Joey Leone)

Michael Rapaport was one of the big-name actors who made the Grand Theft Auto III cast one of the best of all time when he played Joey Leone. The son of Salvatore Leone was one of the player’s earliest contacts, and his missions remain some of the best in the game’s early stages.

Robert Loggia (Ray Machowski)

Though he didn’t reprise his iconic Scarface role (or at least something similar to Frank Lopez) in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Robert Loggia did have a great part in Grand Theft Auto III one year earlier. There are some wild characters in the 2001 game, but corrupt police officer Ray Machowski was in a league of his own. Kudos to those who still have his bulletproof Patriot in the garages after all these years.

Will Forte (Martin Serious)

Saturday Night Live alum (and WWE Raw host) Will Forte showed up in Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and the Damned, the first of two DLC expansions for the 2008 game. In the game, Forte provides the voice of Martin Serious, a shock jock in the vein of Howard Stern on WKTT talk radio.

Robert Davi (Juan Cortez)

Robert Davi, who appeared in movies like The Goonies and Raw Deal in the ‘80s, showed up in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City as Juan Cortez, a retired Central American colonel and drug kingpin. The mysterious character, who admired Tommy Vercetti a great deal, provided for some wild (and difficult) missions.

Danny McBride (Duane Earl)

Danny McBride gave players one of the funniest radio DJs in the state of San Andreas when he voiced Duane Earl in Grand Theft Auto V. Host of the Beyond Insemination program on Blaine County Radio (this only became available after leaving Los Santos), Earl was right up there with McBride’s most well-known character, Kenny Powers.

Axl Rose (Tommy ‘The Nightmare’ Smith)

In addition to featuring Guns N’ Roses’ legendary “Welcome to the Jungle” track (it was also in the game’s trailer), Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas also had the band’s lead singer, Axl Rose, portray a radio DJ. Tommy “The Nightmare” Smith could be heard on K-DST radio, aka, The Dust.

Lee Majors (Mitch Baker)

Lee Majors gave his voice to one of the coolest characters in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City with his portrayal of “Big” Mitch Baker, the leader of a biker gang and owner of the Greasy Chopper bar. A major player late in the game, Baker worked with Tommy Vercetti for multiple jobs, including the Love Fist concert.

Tom Sizemore (Sonny Forelli)

On top of playing some of the craziest characters in Hollywood history, the late Tom Sizemore also voiced an unforgettable villain in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. Sonny Forelli, the primary antagonist and leader of the Forelli Crime Family, was willing to do anything and everything to make life messy for Tommy Vercetti, which ultimately cost him in the end.

Phil Collins (Himself)

Phil Collins, yes, the Phil Collins, played himself in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories. The PSP game, which later came to PS2, featured the “In the Air Tonight” singer in a daring mission where the player had to thwart an assassination attempt. If the player beats the mission and pays $6,000 for a ticket, they can watch a full performance of Collins’ most popular song.

Ice-T (Madd Dogg)

Los Santos rapper Madd Dogg has one of the craziest and most unforgettable arcs in all of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. From having his lyric book and career stolen from him to thinking about ending things before going to rehab to becoming the biggest rapper on the planet, he goes through it. The story is made even better with rapper-turned-actor Ice-T bringing the character to life.

Faizon Love (Sweet)

Though Sweet may be the most annoying character in the entire Grand Theft Auto franchise (well, outside of Roman Bellic), Faizon Love’s performance in San Andreas is great. The Friday and The Parent ‘Hood actor went all-in with his portrayal of Sean “Sweet” Johnson, the older brother to the game’s protagonist. Sweet could be a lot at times, but Love added so much to the character.

James Woods (Mike Toreno)

Every Grand Theft Auto game has a character that’s so out there, they live in a world beyond good and evil. In the case of San Andreas, that responsibility falls into the lap of Mike Toreno, an undercover agent working for an unnamed and shadowy government agency voiced by James Woods. It’s hard to think of another actor who could play Toreno better than the Casino and Once Upon a Time in America actor.

Charlie Murphy (Jizzy B.)

Though we didn’t get to see too much of Jizzy B. before CJ took him out in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, this performance by the late Charlie Murphy made the owner of the Pleasure Domes nightclub a character many of us still think about 20-plus years later. The Loco Syndicate member was mean, vicious, and a little pathetic, but he was so much fun to watch.

Peter Fonda (The Truth)

The late, great Peter Fonda portrayed one of the wildest and most bizarre characters in Grand Theft Auto history when he took on the role of The Truth in San Andreas. A spiritual character who wasn’t shy of violence (or at least having CJ do his dirty work), the free-thinking and otherworldly ally was there for some of the game’s signature moments.

David Cross (Zero)

There’s a large portion of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas players who have never beaten all of Zero’s missions, so don’t even try to lie about it. Though most of us didn’t see his story to completion, the electronics expert and owner of Zero RC voiced by comedian David Cross is still beloved to this day. Just don’t ask us to beat the infamous “Supply Lines” level.

Salma Hayek and Danny Trejo are quite the dynamic duo. They met co-starring in Hayek’s first movie, Mi Vida Loca, and would reunite two years later for one of the greatest Mexican films, Desperado. As for the two stars’ first encounter with each other, it is quite an unusual story, but a very sweet one that ended with, “For you, I would rob another bank.”

Before becoming an actor, Danny Trejo led the life of a real badass. When he was a teen, he was in and out of prison for armed robberies. Back in 2016, Salma Hayek spoke on The Graham Norton Show (via audiobookfanatic on Instagram) about meeting the actor on her film debut, which led to a bizarre interaction:

That’s definitely not something you hear all the time when meeting your co-star!

Funnily enough, there’s a very good reason why Danny Trejo felt he knew Salma Hayek before starring in Mi Vida Loca. Here’s what else went down in their strange exchange with a very sweet ending:

I can only imagine what an abnormal experience that was for Salma Hayek to see a woman who looked just like her on Danny Trejo’s chest! And in a way, it’s a kinda…sweet proclamation to say he’d rob another bank for her. But fortunately, the actor’s armed robbery days are long over.

Trejo has since made a name for himself in film and television, owns a chain of restaurants in L.A., and has a line of upcoming movies he’ll appear in.

Plus since their first meeting, he and Hayek have starred in many great Robert Rodriguez movies like Desperado, From Dusk Til Dawn, Once Upon a Time in Mexico and Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over, they also had unforgettable cameos in Muppets Most Wanted. So, maybe it was fate for the two to meet.

Now, I really can't get over this story. Just when I thought I had heard all of the wild stories out there, I find out Danny Trejo has a large tattoo on his chest that resembles the woman he’d eventually co-star with in six movies. However, he was clearly very taken with working with Salma Hayek, feeling he’d “rob another bank” for her.

Whether the Machete actor realized it or not, his admiration for the actress had become permanently enshrined not just with the movies they made together, but also, humorously enough, in the ink on his chest. Now, you can take a look at our 2025 movie releases to see what they're each working on next while we wait and see if they collaborate again.

Here’s the thing: I love Con Air. I was blown away by the all-time great action movie when I first saw it as a kid back in 1997, and 28 years later, I’m just as obsessed with it. Even though some things will never make sense about the star-studded action flick, there’s so much to love. You’ve got one of the wildest Nicolas Cage characters, an amazing John Cusack performance, and quite possibly the most ruthless group of villains of all time led by John Malkovich’s Cyrus “The Virus” Grissom.

Though Cyrus is quite possibly one of the most charismatic, intelligent, and meanest bad guys of the ‘90s, I don’t think he’s the worst of the worst aboard the “Jail Bird.” Sure, he’s the ringleader of it all and adds more notches to his kill count than anyone else in the movie, but there are some runaways on the plane that are far more rotten. Let me explain…

Cyrus ‘The Virus’ Grissom

While it is true that Cyrus “The Virus” Grissom orchestrated the whole hijacking, killed an ungodly number of people, and has a rap sheet longer than just about anyone in Con Air, it’s argued in the movie that he’s a “true product of the system.” It doesn’t absolve this show-stealing villain of his crimes, but it’s all he’s ever known.

The 11 inmates killed during his stints in prison, three riots, and two escape attempts won’t put him on the “nice” list, but unlike some of his co-conspirators and fellow passengers, John Malkovich’s utterly insane character did at least have standards. Despite having “killed more men than cancer,” Cyrus despises assalters, has no time for white nationalists, and is incredibly loyal to those who have his back (just don’t turn against him).

Nathan ‘Diamond Dog’ Jones

Nathan “Diamond Dog” Jones, Ving Rhames’ militant domestic terrorist in prison for blowing up an NRA meeting, is nearly as charismatic and devilish as Cyrus, and he also has quite the bite. One of the orchestrators of the prison transport plane takeover, Diamond Dog is pretty much The Virus’ right-hand man. And despite being a very, very bad man, his charm, wit, and smile make it hard to hate on him too much.

Yeah, he kills a lot of folks, adds several more felonies to an already impressive list, and makes life a living hell for Cameron Poe (Nicolas Cage), but again, it’s hard to keep this dog down.

Earl ‘Swamp Thing’ Williams

Earl “Swamp Thing” Williams (M. C. Gainey) is one of the hijackers we learn the least about in Con Air. Outside of being a skilled pilot (and knowing how to properly remove a plane’s transponder) and fellow inmate, nothing much is said about him before or after he hitches a ride in Carson City. However, his crazy sense of humor, facial hair, and general disdain for authority put him in the middle of the pack as far as terribleness goes.

Joe 'Pinball' Parker

I miss the days when Dave Chappelle would randomly show up in movies like You’ve Got Mail and Con Air, because he had a perfect batting average in the late ‘90s. Though Joe “Pinball” Parker doesn’t get a whole lot of time in the movie before he gets crushed by the landing gear and ends up smashing through that old dude’s car, he does play a key role in taking over the plane.

The serial arsonist catching a fellow inmate on fire kickstarts the whole takeover of the plane, and him quickly grabbing a guard’s keys allows the more violent offenders to escape their cages. If he’d kept his mouth shut (and that balloon of fuel and matches) in his stomach, Cameron Poe would have made it home on time.

Francisco Cindino

Francisco Cindino (Jesse Borrego) is only in Con Air for a short while before he gets turned into a pile of ashes by Cyrus Grissom, but this guy had it coming. A South American drug lord and terrorist who helped finance the whole operation, Cindino made the mistake of trying to double-cross one of the most ruthless men to ever go through the United States Penal System.

William 'Billy Bedlam' Bedford

Okay, now it’s time to talk about the bad of the bad when it comes to Con Air villains. First up is William “Billy Bedlam” Bedford (Nick Chinlund), a man with absolutely no redeeming qualities. He’s not bright, he’s not funny, he’s not nice, and he has one of the most disturbing reasons for being in prison in the first place.

This guy didn't kill his wife after catching her having an affair, but instead drove four towns over to her family's house where he killed her parents, her brothers, her sisters, and even the dog before it was all said and done. Plus, he didn't put the bunny back in the box when Cameron Poe politely asked him to leave his stuff alone.

John ‘Johnny 23’ Baca

Danny Trejo may be a badass in real life, but his character in Con Air was one depraved sicko. John “Johnny 23” Baca, whose name would be “Johnny 600” if the authorities knew how many women he had assaulted before being caught, even has a tattoo representing each of his victims on his arm.

The serial assaulter, who mostly just looked scary and made multiple threats to Guard Sally Bishop (Rachel Ticotin) on the flight, showed not even a sliver of remorse from start to finish, which made him one of the worst of the worst on “Jail Bird.”

Garland ‘The Marietta Mangler' Greene

Steve Buscemi’s Garland Greene is introduced as “The Marietta Mangler” when he is brought aboard the plane like Hannibal Lecter halfway through Con Air, and instantly becomes one of the most insane and unforgettable convicts on the escape path. While the man responsible for countless murders does seem to be one of the nicer convicts on the flight (at least on the surface level), that's far from the case.

Despite his friendly demeanor, keen observation skills, and ability to point out irony in the worst of times, I can’t set aside the fact that Greene bragged about driving through multiple states wearing a victim’s head like a hat. But his successful escape at the end of the movie does have me bummed we never got a Con Air sequel.

So, Who's The Worst?

If Cyrus “The Virus” Grissom isn’t the worst of the worst from Con Air, then who is it? Well, after thinking long and hard about this, I firmly believe that it’s Billy Bedlam who is the sickest, most depraved, and unlikable convict aboard the plane. Not only did he kill his wife’s family (and dog) so that she would suffer even more, and not only was he a chicken shit throughout the movie, but he also messed with Cameron Poe’s attempt to do the right thing and ruin his surprise for his daughter.

Johnny 23 and Garland Greene weren’t far behind, but Billy Bedlam was just the worst…

Bonus: DEA Agent Duncan Malloy

Before I go, I just have to point out that DEA Agent Duncan Malloy (Colm Meaney) has to be the biggest jerk in Con Air and possibly in any ‘90s movie. It’s partially his fault that everything got chaotic in the movie, and his “AZZ KIKR” license plate gives off some serious inferiority complex like he’s Kirk Millhouse sleeping in a racing car on The Simpsons. However, his introductory line of “this is spectacular” when describing his car is one of the best parts of the movie.

I know Cyrus “The Virus” Grissom is a terrible guy who deserved to go out by getting crushed by some random piece of equipment off the Las Vegas Strip, but there’s no denying he’s one of the best villains of all time.

Celebrities owning restaurants is an old tradition in Hollywood. Sometimes, like Mark Wahlberg, it's a simple burger chain, other times, it's a classy hotel where you can have an elegant meal, like Richard Gere. Everything from tacos to sushi to fried chicken and everything in between. 

Just like people love watching scenes in movies about food, people love to rub elbows with the elite in some of these establishments. Here are 32 actors who own restaurants all over the country. 

Mark Wahlberg - Wahlburgers

The first Wahlburgers opened in Hingham, Massachusetts in 2011. The chain has since grown to dozens of stores all over the country and was the subject of a reality show for 10 seasons on A&E. The chain is collectively owned by three Wahlbergs, including Mark and Donnie, along with their chef brother, Paul. 

Ryan Gosling - Tagline

Ryan Gosling has become one of the biggest stars in Hollywood, and so it makes sense he would open a restaurant in Beverly Hills. Co-owned by the Barbie star and Chef Ben Benameur, the Moroccan joint serves up delicious food in a cozy atmosphere.

Lady Gaga - Joanne Trattoria

Joanne Germanotta was a beloved aunt to Lady Gaga (whose real name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta). Not only did Gaga name a 2016 album after her, but the family has also opened Joanne Trattoria on the Upper West Side in Manhattan. In true Gaga style, the restaurant is not only a great place for Italian food, but it supports local artists, hosts regular drag shows, and has regular performances by local musicians. 

Robert De Niro - Nobu

Robert De Niro first became a regular at chef Nobu Matsuhisa's LA sushi joint Nobu way back in the 1980s. In the mid-90s, De Niro approached Matsuhisa about opening a New York spot. Nobu opened in 1994 in Tribeca and the company has since become a powerhouse in the hospitality industry, with dozens of restaurants and hotels all over the world. 

Michael Imperioli - Scarlet

White Lotus star Michael Imperioli has dabbled in the restaurant industry for a long time. In the mid-'90s Imperioli and his wife opened a speakeasy-style bar called Ciel Rouge, in Tribeca. Almost 30 years later, and 20 after Ciel Rouge closed in 2005, the couple opened Scarlet on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It sticks with the classy, chill speakeasy vibe that made their first venture successful. 

Sandra Bullock - Walton's Fancy & Staple

Walton's Fancy & Staple in Austin, TX, is pretty much exactly what you would expect from Sandra Bullock. It's an upscale neighborhood place with hearty food and a cheery atmosphere. Walton's is the Speed star's second restaurant in her adopted hometown. The first, Bess Bistro, closed in 2016 after a successful 10-year run. Walton's opened in 2009. 

Ludacris - Chicken And Beer

Is there anything better than good fried chicken and great beer to wash it down? If you're in Atlanta and don't check out Ludacris' place, simply named Chicken and Beer, you're missing out on those two wonderful things that pair so well together.

Norman Reedus - Nic & Norman's

Norman Reedus is famous for playing rough-around-the-edges characters like Daryl in The Walking Dead, but his restaurant is not. Nic & Norman's, which has locations across the Southeast is rustic, but it's not rough in any way. The upscale but relaxed gastropubs are sure to satisfy anyone. 

Susan Sarandon - SPiN

When Susan Sarandon and her fellow investors opened SPiN in 2009, there was a surge in the popularity of table tennis (or ping pong). The fad was pretty short-lived, but the table tennis-focused restaurants have remained successful with multiple locations around the country. 

Dan Aykroyd - House Of Blues

One of Dan Aykroyd's most beloved SNL characters, Elwood Blues of The Blues Brothers, has proven to be more than just a role for the actor. On Thanksgiving Day 1992, Aykroyd and his partner Isaac Tigrett (who founded the Hard Rock Cafe), opened the first House of Blues in Cambridge, MA. It has since grown into one of the largest chains of live music venues in the world, and serves some pretty delicious food, too. 

Eva Longoria - Beso

Eva Longoria can do no wrong on the big and small screens, but she didn't have much luck in the restaurant industry. Her steakhouse in LA, Beso, ran into multiple problems in its short run, though none were the fault of the actress. 

Kevin Hart - Hart House

Kevin Hart's LA chain Hart House was ambitious. He wanted to create an affordable vegan chain, and despite rave reviews, it just couldn't make it in the market. The company closed all of its locations in 2024 after initially finding success. 

Issa Rae - Hilltop Coffee And Kitchen

Issa Rae is a true force of nature both in front of and behind the camera. She's also found success in the food industry. Hilltop Coffee And Kitchen brings high-end coffee vibes to historical Black neighborhoods in LA, like Inglewood and View Park. 

Danny Trejo - Trejo's Tacos

Everyone loves tacos and every loves Danny Trejo. So of course a concept like Trejo's Tacos is sure to work and it has succeeded greatly. The chain has multiple locations across LA and has even spawned a second concept: Trejo's Donuts which also opened to rave reviews. 

Channing Tatum - Saints And Sinners

Saints And Sinners, a bar on Bourbon Street in New Orleans co-owned by Channing Tatum was a wild success... at least for a time. The industry is notoriously fickle and Tatum and his partners learned that the hard way when the bar closed in the summer of 2024 after 12 great years. 

Justin Timberlake - The Twelve Thirty Club

Justin Timberlake first dabbled in the food industry in the early teens when he helped design a Memphis-style BBQ joint in New York City called Southern Hospitality. Though he wasn't an owner, he was involved in the concept phase of the place and was a regular there. More recently, he has teamed up with restauranteur Sam Fox to open The Twelve Thirty Club in Nashville. 

Nicholas Braun - Jac’s On Bond

Cousin Greg may not always get the most respect on Succession, but the actor who plays him, Nicholas Braun, sure gets respect in the hospitality industry. Braun is an investor in multiple restaurants in New York City, including a chill bar and restaurant called Jac's on Bond Street in the trendy NoHo neighborhood. 

Zach Braff - Mermaid Oyster Bar

MacDougal Street in New York's Greenwich Village is home to some great restaurants, like the legendary Caffe Reggio and Mamoun's Falafels. It's also where you can find Zach Braff's more upscale, but still laid-back seafood spot appropriately called Mermaid Oyster Bar. 

Anthony Mackie - NoBar

Like others on this list (and in the world), Anthony Mackie has had mixed results as a bar/restaurant owner. His most famous spot, NoBar, opened in Brooklyn in 2011, followed by a second Booklyn location in 2013. Sadly both closed in 2015. 

Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis - Planet Hollywood

The granddaddy of all actor-owned restaurants has to be Planet Hollywood. The first Planet Hollywood opened in New York City in 1991. Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Bruce Willis, among others, were all investors in the concept and, at least at first, the restaurant was a huge success, opening additional locations across the globe. At its peak, there were upwards of 60 locations in the late '90s, but the fun didn't last. Things started to unravel and the stars started to jump shit and most of the locations, other than their most successful ones, closed. 

Richard Gere - Bedford Post Inn

Legendary actor Richard Gere doesn't just own a restaurant, he owns an 8-room bed and breakfast called the Bedford Post Inn in... appropriately, Bedford, NY. The stylish and quaint inn does include a spot to eat, the Bedford Post Tavern, and the inn and the restaurant both draw all kinds of celebrities for a restful stay or a delicious dinner. 

Robert Redford - Zoom

It shouldn't come as any surprise to learn that Robert Redford's former restaurant in Park City, UT was home to a lot of home to a lot powerbrokers during the Sundance Film Festival for many years. Prior to closing in 2016, the hot spot was where the elite met to eat and strike deals during one of the biggest film festivals in the world. 

Hugh Jackman - Laughing Man Coffee

The origin story for Hugh Jackman's Laughing Man Coffee is one of the best on this list. The Aussie actor and his wife took a trip to Ethiopia to learn more about coffee and how the beans were grown. There, according to the coffee shop's website, Jackman met a coffee farmer named Dukale. Dukale gave Jackman a real hands-on experience and after the trip, he and some partners opened Laughing Man Coffee with the goal of working directly with farmers around the world to bring their coffee to New Yorkers. 

Jon Bon Jovi - Soul Kitchen And JBJ's

Jon Bon Jovi may be most famous for being the voice of the band named after him, but he's dabbled a lot in acting, and a little in the hospitality biz. His first venture was started by his foundation and called Soul Kitchen. The restaurant, located in Red Bank, NJ, sells food for whatever hungry customers can afford. Bon Jovi has also opened a spot on the famous Broadway strip in Nashville called JBJ's which features live music and a full menu, in addition to beer and booze, of course.

Piper Perabo - Jack's Wife Freda

Piper Perabo got her big break playing a bartender in Coyote Ugly and while the New York City chain she's an investor in, called Jack's Wife Frida, doesn't feature half-dressed women dancing on the bar, it's got something even better: delicious Mediterranean food. With five locations across the city, you can always find what you're craving, breakfast, lunch, and dinner. 

Jessica Biel - Au Fudge

Au Fudge, which closed its doors in 2018, was something unique in the celebrity restaurant world - a kid's restaurant. As the name implies, Jessica Biel's spot was all about dessert and candy. It also had all the stuff kids love, like chicken fingers, on the menu. The world needs more of these, right parents?

Debi Mazar - The Tuscan Gun

Debi Mazar and her chef husband's love of food was first shown through a cooking show on the Cooking Channel. They spun that into a Tuscany-themed New York restaurant called The Tuscan Gun. Using chef Mazar's husband Gabriele Corcos' recipes, the Italian joint brought the best of Italy to Williamsburg. 

Quentin Tarantino - Do Hwa

For years, Quentin Tarantino's Korean restaurant Do Hwa brought the delicious flavors of East Asia to the West Village in New York. While very few people would call Tarantino "understated," his restaurant was, in all the best ways. It was cozy and delicious before it closed in 2018.

Jerry Ferrara - Fat Sal's

A sandwich joint called Fat Sal's is just perfect for Entourage star Jerry Ferrara. It sounds exactly like something Turtle would open on the show. Fat Sal's has multiple locations around LA and is a great spot if you want traditional deli sandwiches sold by a guy you can be sure loves them as much as you do. 

Justin Theroux - Ray's

Justin Theroux is a jack of all trades. He's an actor, a writer, and an ex-husband to Jennifer Aniston. He's also a bar owner, along with partner Nicolaus Braun with Ray's on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. The dive bar is everything you could ever want in an unpretentious local water hole, which is no surprise, coming from Theroux. 

Ashton Kutcher - Dolce Enoteca E Ristorante

Ashton Kutcher has never been afraid to make risky investments. Some have paid off handsomely, like his early investments in Spotify and Uber. Others haven't worked out so well, like his short-lived Italian spot, Dolce Enoteca E Ristorante. The hot spot worked for a while but it closed in 2020, like so many other restaurants. 

Ty Burrell - The Eating Establishment

Modern Family star Ty Burrell took a slightly different route to restaurant ownership than most of the other actors on his list. Instead of starting a new spot, he bought an old one. The Eating Establishment, which dates back to 1970, was purchased by Burrell and other investors in 2016 and they've continued to run the popular Park City, UT restaurant ever since. 

Eminem - Mom's Spaghetti

Mom's Spaghetti is the perfect kind of place for Eminem to own, right? The Detroit, Michigan-based eatery has name that perfectly describes the food you can get there, and it's taken straight from an Eminem lyric in "Lose Yourself."

Jon Huertas - Clutch

Jon Huertas, best known for playing Brad Alcerro in Sabrina The Teenage Witch, is the proud owner of Clutch Roadhouse in Culver City, CA. Clutch is known for its great food and charitable works, both very important to the This Is Us star. 

The X-Files is an iconic show to come out of the early '90s, and the combination of mythology stories and Monster of the Week episodes created enough of a hit to last nine original seasons, two revival seasons, and two feature films. David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson aren't the only big names to come out of the show, however, as a number of the guest stars went on to become stars of their own shows. Read on for the standouts!

Ryan Reynolds

Ryan Reynolds is known for big screen ventures like the Deadpool films nowadays, but The X-Files fans saw a very young version of the actor in the Season 3 episode “Syzygy” in 1996… briefly, anyway! His character was killed off before the end of the cold open, but Reynolds would go on to star in ABC’s hit Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place sitcom from 1998-2001.

Bryan Cranston

Bryan Cranston proved a master of comedy with Malcolm in the Middle and of drama with Breaking Bad, but he flexed his acting muscles on The X-Files earlier on. While playing the ill-fated Patrick Crump in the Season 6 episode “Drive” wasn’t his first TV credit, the 1998 gig introduced him to executive producer Vince Gilligan, who would go on to cast Cranston as Walter White.

Jack Black

Long before School of Rock and The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Jack Black played Bart “Zero” Liquori in Episode 3 of The X-Files’ third season in 1995. He would later star in TV projects like Tenacious D between 1997-2000, The Brink in 2015, and the Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight animated series from 2022-2023.

Terry O'Quinn

Terry O’Quinn portrayed three different franchise characters. He played Lt. Brian Tillman in the “Aubrey” episode of Season 2 in 1995, SAC Michaud in The X-Files: Fight the Future feature film, and Shadow Man in the “Trust No 1” episode of Season 9 in 2002. Best known now as John Locke on Lost from 2004-2010, he also recurred on shows including Hawaii Five-0, FBI: Most Wanted, and Resident Alien.

Luke Wilson

Luke Wilson holds a special place in the hearts of many X-Files fans for starring as the vampire sheriff Lucius Hartwell in arguably the show’s best episode: “Bad Blood” in 1998. Following that Season 5 episode, he landed multi-episode gigs on shows including That ‘70s Show and Roadies before starring in the DC Comics-based series Stargirl from 2020-2022.

Lucy Liu

Future Kill Bill actress Lucy Liu played Kim Hsin in The X-Files’ third season episode called “Hell Money” back in 1996. She debuted in her first series regular role on the sitcom Pearl later that year, but her big TV break would be Ling Woo on Ally McBeal before playing Dr. Joan Watson in CBS’ Elementary from 2012-2019.

Tony Shalhoub

Before he was an Emmy- and Tony Award-winner, Tony Shalhoub appeared in the Season 2 episode of The X-Files called “Soft Light” as the very stressed Dr. Chester Ray Banton. While he was already starring on NBC’s sitcom Wings at the time, his most acclaimed (and award-winning) work came later with Monk starting in 2002 and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel starting in 2017.

Jane Lynch

The ninth season of The X-Files wasn't the most popular, but the “Lord of the Flies” episode in 2001 featured Jane Lynch as Mrs. Anne T. Lokensgard years before she introduced the world to Sue Sylvester on Fox’s Glee. For that role, she'd be nominated for three Emmys and win one over the course of six seasons from 2009-2015.

Felicity Huffman

Considering Felicity Huffman's later fame for Sports Night, American Crime, and Desperate Housewives, it can be easy to overlook her very early episode of The X-Files as Dr. Nancy Da Silva in 1993. The Season 1 episode was an homage to the iconic horror film The Thing and remains one of the show’s best more than thirty years later.

Shia LaBeouf

When one thinks of Shia LaBeouf as a child star, his lead role as Louis Stevens in Disney Channel’s Even Stevens from 2000-2003 probably comes to mind first. One year earlier, however, the future household name played a sick youngster by the name of Richie in a Season 7 episode of The X-Files called “The Goldberg Variation.”

CCH Pounder

While CCH Pounder only appeared as Agent Lucy Kazdin in one episode of The X-Files, Season 2's “Duane Barry” was pivotal. Starting later in 1994, Pounder appeared in the first four seasons of ER before arriving on The Shield in 2002. Her longest-running role has been playing NCIS: New Orleans' Dr. Loretta Wade for all seven seasons from 2014-2021.

BD Wong

While BD Wong appeared in Jurassic Park in the early ‘90s, small-screen stardom would take longer. He played Detective Glen Chao in The X-Files’ “Hell Money” episode of Season 3 in 1996, before he’d go on to a role in Oz from 1997-2003 and Law & Order: SVU starting in 2001. He’d eventually become one of the Law & Order stars to appear in most episodes.

Donal Logue

Donal Logue guest-starred in The X-Files' very first Monster of the Week episode, called “Squeeze,” in 1993. He went on to recur in later seasons of ER before starring in all five seasons of Grounded for Life and all five seasons of Gotham, which wrapped after 100 episodes in 2019.

Peter Boyle

Peter Boyle’s career goes back to the 1960s, but X-Files Season 3 fans will remember him for playing the title character in “Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose” in 1995, for which he won an Emmy. He would then score another seven Emmy nominations for playing Frank Barone across nine seasons of Everybody Loves Raymond from 1996-2005.

Laurie Holden

Laurie Holden wasn’t a one-off guest star on The X-Files but would appear in ten episodes as Marita Covarrubias between 1996-2002. She’d become more of a household name as part of the original cast of The Walking Dead regulars, and she ranks among the Walking Dead cast members to appear in most episodes.

Aaron Paul

The future Breaking Bad star can be found in a Season 9 episode of The X-Files, called “Lord of the Flies” in 2001, where he played a character with the distinguished name of “Sky Commander Winky.” He would go on to recur on Big Love before landing his career-making role as Jesse Pinkman opposite Bryan Cranston. Post-Breaking Bad credits include The Path, BoJack Horseman, and Westworld.

Michael Emerson

Years before his Emmy-winning portrayal of Ben on Lost, Michael Emerson guest-starred in the final Monster of the Week episode of The X-Files’ original run. Called “Sunshine Days,” the Season 9 episode in 2002 preceded his guest stint on Without a Trace, his role in Saw, and of course five seasons of Lost. Other long-running roles since The X-Files include Person of Interest and Evil.

Jesse L. Martin

Jesse L. Martin arrived on The X-Files to play baseball-loving alien Josh Exley in “The Unnatural,” the Season 6 episode written and directed by David Duchovny in 1999. Later that year, Martin joined the cast of Law & Order, where he remained for nine seasons and nearly 200 episodes. The Flash was his next series regular gig until 2023, followed by The Irrational early in the 2024 TV lineup.

Bradley Whitford

While Bradley Whitford is likely best remembered for his work as Josh Lyman in The West Wing starting in 1999, he had a very different part to play in The X-Files’ second season in 1994. He portrayed the unfortunate Daniel Trepkos in “Firewalker.” Whitford has three Emmy wins to his name since the early ‘90s thanks to his work on The West Wing, Transparent, and The Handmaid’s Tale.

Paul McCrane

Paul McCrane played the titular character in the Season 4 episode called “Leonard Betts” in 1997. He’s also responsible for one of the most iconic lines in The X-Files history: “I’m sorry, but you’ve got something I need.” McCrane joined the cast of ER later that year to play Dr. Robert Romano across seven seasons, ending his time in one of the medical drama’s most memorable deaths.

Kurtwood Smith

Although he would later be quite well known for a different Fox series, Kurtwood Smith portrayed Agent Bill Patterson in the Season 3 episode called “Grotesque,” which aired on the network in 1996. Two years later, he was back on Fox for That ‘70s Show to play Red Forman for eight seasons and 200 episodes. Smith more recently reprised the role for Netflix’s That ‘90s Show.

Octavia Spencer

Octavia Spencer’s episode of The X-Files in 1999 may be better remembered as the one that delivered the first actual kiss between Mulder and Scully, but you can find the actress in the Season 7 episode titled “Millennium.” In addition to winning her Academy Award for The Help, Spencer landed many guest and recurring TV gigs before her lead role in Apple TV+’s Truth Be Told from 2019-2023.

Seth Green

Seth Green was a guest in the very first episode of The X-Files following the pilot, as Emil in “Deep Throat” in 1993. While it wasn’t his first TV role, it preceded his work as Oz on Buffy the Vampire Slayer from 1997-2000. He really hit his stride as a voice actor with Robot Chicken and Family Guy in particular, with hundreds of episodes of each show to his name.

Garrett Dillahunt

The X-Files is one of Garret Dillahunt’s earliest credits, as he played Edward Skur in the flashback-heavy Season 5 episode “Travelers” in 1998. He may be better remembered for his work in Deadwood which started several years later in 2004, followed by TV projects including all four seasons of Raising Hope, three seasons of The Mindy Project, and three seasons of Fear the Walking Dead.

Dean Norris

Dean Norris is a master of playing characters in law enforcement, including Marshal Tapia in The X-Files’ Season 2 episode “F. Emasculata” in 1995. His biggest TV break would come years later as Hank Schrader in Breaking Bad, and he appeared in all three seasons of CBS’ Under the Dome and all four seasons of TNT’s Claws before recurring in Law & Order: Organized Crime’s fourth season as well.

Lucy Lawless

Lucy Lawless’ most iconic work to date was likely as Xena in Xena: Warrior Princess for syndication from 1995-2001, but she came to network TV primetime in 2001 for two episodes of The X-Files Season 9 as alien super-soldier Shannon McMahon. She’d go on to recur across the last three seasons of Battlestar Galactica and become one of the faces of Starz’s Spartacus franchise of shows starting in 2010.

Brad Dourif

Brad Dourif is one of The X-Files’ most memorable early guest stars as serial killer Luther Lee Boggs in Season’s “Beyond the Sea” in 1991, but he really made a mark on TV starting in 2004 with playing Doc Cochran in Deadwood. More recently, he has been voicing the demonic doll himself in the Chucky series that premiered in 2021.

Bruce Campbell

After the Evil Dead films, Bruce Campbell was a perfect casting for a show like The X-Files in its sixth season. He played Wayne Weinsider in the twisted “Terms of Endearment” episode of 1999. Campbell would later spend seven seasons on USA as part of the Burn Notice cast, and – of course – reprise his role as Ash for all three seasons of the Ash vs Evil Dead TV show.

Willie Garson

The late Willie Garson played two different characters on The X-Files: Quinton “Roach” Freely in Season 3’s “The Walk” in 1995 and Henry Weems in Season 7’s “The Goldberg Variation” in 1999. His most well-known work is likely playing Stanford Blatch on Sex and the City across all six seasons starting in 1998. He would also star in all six seasons of USA’s White Collar following its 2009 premiere.

Giovanni Ribisi

Giovanni Ribisi certainly wasn’t unknown in television when he guest-starred as Darin Peter Oswald in Season 3 of The X-Files in 1995, but it was before he made his Friends debut as Frank Buffay Jr. More significantly, he starred in Fox’s Dads opposite Seth Green from 2013-2014 and then all three seasons of Prime Video’s Sneaky Pete from 2015-2019.

Mark Sheppard

Mark Sheppard only had a couple of credits in the entertainment industry to his name when he appeared as Cecil L’Ively in the Season 1 episode “Fire” in 1993. He then landed ongoing roles in shows like Soldier of Fortune, Inc., 24, and Battlestar Galactica, but he’s best known for portraying the fan-favorite demon Crowley on Supernatural for eight of the show’s fifteen seasons.

Danny Trejo

Danny Trejo came to The X-Files in Season 8 to play Cesar Ocampo in “Redrum” in the show’s early post-Mulder era. In addition to some film credits following TXF, he arrived on The Young and the Restless in 2008 and – most notably – Sons of Anarchy to play Romeo Parada starting in 2011. He’s also a prolific voice actor for shows including King of the Hill, The Adventures of Puss in Boots, and Big City Greens.

When it comes to the smartest TV detectives we’ve ever seen, Adrian Monk definitely can count himself among them – right next to Columbo, Sherlock Holmes, and Luther (to name a few). For eight seasons of the USA Network series, Adrian Monk’s tendency to see all the details, often tied with his OCD, matched with his personal motivation to get “the guy” following the death of his wife, Trudy, was exciting to tune into week-to-week. All the while, major actors would often guest star. Some of which were big names before Monk, and others that have since skyrocketed into fame. 

Jeffrey Dean Morgan 

Over a decade before Jeffrey Dean Morgan became The Walking Dead’s Negan, the famed TV actor was in the Season 3 premiere of Monk, “Mr. Monk Takes Manhattan.” In the episode, Monk travels with the SFPD team to New York City to do some work in association with the murder of Trudy, but in the meantime, Monk gets embroiled in the case of a recently deceased Latvian ambassador. Morgan’s character catches the detective’s eye in connection to the ambassador’s death. 

Malcolm McDowell

The lead of Stanley Kubrick’s masterful A Clockwork Orange, Malcolm McDowell, made his way into Monk during Season 4 in a particularly great episode of the series that takes the detective into the world of fashion. In “Mr. Monk Goes To A Fashion Show,” he decides to pay a visit to the inspector of his favorite collared shirts when he notices recent inconsistencies. It leads him and Natalie to meet a British fashion designer named Julian Hodge, played by McDowell. 

Jennifer Lawrence

Did you know that Silver Linings Playbook Oscar winner, Jennifer Lawrence, was in Monk? Back in 2006, when the actress was a teenager and had not yet starred in any movies, she had a very small role as a high school mascot in the Season 5 episode “Mr. Monk and the Big Game.” Her head is covered for most of her scene, but she does take off the helmet for a moment in the episode. 

Jason Alexander 

Seinfeld’s Jason Alexander guest starred in Monk for the Season 4 premiere “Mr. Monk and the Other Detective” as another P.I. in town named Marty Eels. During Monk’s latest case, the detective begins to be overshadowed by Alexander’s character, which hilariously has Monk calling him a cheater. As Eels becomes a big competitor for Monk, it’s a blast to see Shalhoub and Alexander act together. 

John Turturro 

Monk perfectly cast the detective’s brother in 2004 by bringing in John Turturro in a fabulous guest role, that he would play in three episodes. Turturro, who is famous for being in movies with the Coen Brothers, Spike Lee and Adam Sandler played Ambrose, who suffers from severe agoraphobia and deepened Monk’s backstory. He was so memorable in the series that he earned an Emmy for “Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series” for the episode in which he debuted the character, in Season 2’s “Mr. Monk and the Three Pies”. 

Stanley Tucci

One of the strongest Monk episodes of the series is definitely Season 5’s “Mr. Monk and the Actor.” In the 2006 episode, an actor named David Ruskin is set to play Adrian Monk in a movie based on his life and comes to shadow Adrian on his cases. Stanley Tucci plays Ruskin as the actor goes a bit too method with the role of Adrian and debunks some demons regarding what it’s like to be Monk. Tucci won an Emmy for the guest role, and was actually a finalist to play Adrian Monk prior to his guest role. 

Rainn Wilson 

Just a couple years before Rainn Wilson would become Dwight Schrute on one of the best sitcoms of all time, The Office, the actor made a small guest appearance on Monk in Season 2. He played a massive baseball fan and collector as Adrian Monk looked into a case involving a star baseball player. 

James Brolin 

Longtime TV and movie actor James Brolin (who is also the father of Josh Brolin and husband to Barbara Streisand), made his way into Monk for 2005’s Vegas episode. Brolin plays a millionaire casino owner who becomes a suspect following the death of his wife, and Stottlemeyer brings in Monk to solve the case. 

Sean Astin 

In Season 5, Lord of the Rings and The Goonies actor, Sean Astin crossed paths with Tony Shalhoub’s Monk in an episode called “Mr. Monk Is At Your Service.” Astin plays a young billionaire, Paul Buchanan, whom Monk and Natalie come across amidst a visit to Natalie’s parents' wealthy neighborhood. Monk ends up going undercover as Paul’s butler to learn more about him. 

Sarah Silverman 

Famed standup comedian, Sarah Silverman, guest starred in three episodes of Monk over the years as a character named Marci Maven. She first became part of the procedural in 2004 for “Mr. Monk and the TV Star,”  where she played an obsessed fan of the star of a hit show made up for the series called Crime Lab S.F. 

Danny Trejo 

In “Mr. Monk Goes To Jail” in Season 2, Danny Trejo, of Spy Kids, From Dusk Till Dawn and Desperado (among many of his movies), also got to work alongside Tony Shalhoub’s Monk. During the episode, Monk goes undercover as the cellmate of Trejo’s character, who is a convicted quadruple murderer. As you may suspect, comedy ensues. 

Snoop Dogg 

Snoop Dogg was also in Monk for the Season’s “Mr. Monk and the Rapper,” where he played a fictional hip hop star, Murderuss. In the episode, Murderuss approaches the detective to hire him to clear his name after becoming the primary suspect in the death of another rapper. The best part? Snoop Dogg actually raps Monk’s famous “here’s what happened” segment at the end. 

Alfred Molina

Beloved character actor, Alfred Molina, has also been part of Monk for a Season 6 episode. What’s interesting about Molina, is he was actually one of the finalists to play the lead role of Adrian Monk before Shalhoub was cast. In his guest role, he played a billionaire software mogul whose beach house has a view of a nudist beach. 

Jon Favreau 

MCU actor and famed director Jon Favreau was in “Mr. Monk Goes To The Dentist,” which aired during the series’ fourth season in 2006. Favreau plays a dentist who Lieutenant Disher goes to and swears murdered someone while he was under anesthesia for a procedure. 

Carmen Electra

All-star actor, model and singer Carmen Electra can be found in the Monk episode “Mr. Monk and the Panic Room” which came out in 2004. The episode has the detective investigating a crime scene where it seems like a chimpanzee has killed his owner. The victim is a record producer and Electra plays his pop star wife. 

Craig T. Nelson 

Poltergeist and Parenthood actor Craig T. Nelson earned a very important role in Monk for its two-part finale, “Mr. Monk and the End.” He plays Judge Ethan Rickover, who was on the California Court of Appeals and has a history with Monk’s late wife, Trudy. 

Tim Curry 

In Season 1, an enemy of Monk’s was introduced as financier Dale “The Whale” Biederbeck. After the character was originated by Adam Arkin, none other than The Rocky Horror Picture Show’s Tim Curry embodied the role for a brief time in “Mr. Monk Goes To Jail.” 

Niecy Nash

Reno 911’s Niecy Nash made a guest spot in Monk in the early days for “Mr. Monk and the Girl Who Cried Wolf.” The episode follows Adrian’s first assistant Sharona as she starts to believe she’s losing her sanity when she keeps seeing a man with a screwdriver sticking out of his ear (that no one else can see). Neicy Nash plays Sharona’s friend and fellow nurse, Varla should step in to assist Monk. 

Jeffrey Donovan 

The star of Burn Notice, which also was on USA Network like Monk, turned up in the detective series in the episode “Mr. Monk and the Astronaut.” In the Season 4 episode, Jeffrey Donovan plays an astronaut who Monk is sure killed someone, but his alibi is airtight… considering he was in space when the murder occurred. 

Laurie Metcalf 

Roseanne actress Laurie Metcalf had some fun on Monk when she guest starred in the Season 4 episode “Mr. Monk Bumps His Head.” When Adrian wakes up in a small town with amnesia, Metcalf’s unhinged character uses the opportunity to convince the detective he is her husband. 

Nick Offerman 

Parks and Recreation’s Nick Offerman made an appearance in 2005’s “Mr. Monk and the Election” before he became famous for playing the very quotable Ron Swanson. Look out for the actor in his clean-shaven days during the Season 3 episode that has Natalie Teager running for the school board. 

Jane Lynch 

Before actress Jane Lynch rocked sweatsuits on Glee, she did guest for “Mr. Monk Gets Married.” In the episode, Randy Disher is concerned about his mother getting suddenly married to a man who is 30 years younger (played by Lost’s Nestor Carbonell) than him and asks Monk to look into it. This leads Monk and Sharona to pretend to be a married couple for a retreat that Lynch’s psychologist character is in charge of. 

Amy Sedaris 

The very funny Amy Sedaris was on two episodes of Monk to play Sharona’s younger sister, Gail. She first appeared in 2002’s “Mr. Monk and the Earthquake” before also being part of 2003’s “Mr. Monk Goes To The Theater.” Since she’s an actress in the series, her part in a local play that turns into a crime scene makes the second episode a particularly juicy appearance for Sedaris. 

Rachel Dratch

Saturday Night Live’s Rachel Dratch found her way into Monk for “Mr. Monk and the Missing Granny.” In the 2004 episode, Dratch’s character is stressed about the kidnapping of her grandmother and offers to help reinstate Monk to the police force if he can help find her alive. 

Howie Mandel

The Gremlins actor and game and competition show host played the role of Ralph Roberts in two episodes of Monk in 2008. Howie Mandel played the head of a religious cult called Siblings of the Sun in the Season 7 episodes. Mandel is a germaphobe in real life like Monk is.

Holland Taylor

Two and a Half Men actress Holland Taylor played Natalie Teager’s mother Peggy in two episodes of Monk. In the series, Peggy is a well-off woman who married into the Davenport Toothpaste business. She is part of 2005’s “Mr. Monk Goes To A Wedding” and 2007’s “Mr. Monk Is At Your Service.” 

Gena Rowlands

Gena Rowlands is an Academy Award nominee who starred in movies like Woman Under The Influence and Gloria in her youth before famously playing the older version of Allie in The Notebook. In Season 7’s “Mr. Monk and the Lady Next Door,” Monk becomes friendly with Rowlands’ Marge Johnson, but suspicions about her true intentions begin to grow. 

Ariel Winter

Before Ariel Winter became part of Modern Family’s Dunphy family, the actress was in Monk as an eight-year-old for “Mr. Monk and the Astronaut.” She has a small but pivotal role as the neighbor of the victim, whose place in the story leads Monk to track down the killer. 

Julie Bowen

In Season 7’s “Mr. Monk and the Bully,” Julie Bowen plays a character that Adrian Monk investigates after his childhood bully comes out of the woodwork asking for help from the detective. The Truman Show’s Noah Emmerich plays her husband and Monk’s former bully. Julie Bowen is a two-time Emmy winner for her leading role in ABC’s Modern Family. 

Eric Stonestreet

Modern Family’s Cameron Tucker was on Monk the same year the hit ABC comedy first arrived on network television. In “Mr. Monk and the UFO,” Eric Stonestreet plays a small role as a local mechanic named Boom-Boom whom Monk offends and ends up raising his estimate. 

Sung Kang 

Sung Kang, who famously played Han in the Fast and the Furious movies, also guest starred in Monk as two separate characters. First in “Mr. Monk vs. the Cobra” he plays an employee of a martial arts school they visit while investigating the death of a fictional kung fu star, Sonny Chow. Four years later, Kang stars in “Mr. Monk on Wheels” as the cousin of a criminal named John Kuramoto.

Angela Kinsey 

The Office actress Angela Kinsey had a guest role in Monk as Arlene Boras for two episodes of the series. She plays an X-ray technician who was in Alfred Molina’s episode, “Mr. Monk and the Naked Man.” She reprised her role for the 100th episode of Monk as well. 

When it comes to actors who look as if they could make it through any and all of life’s harshest experiences with unflinching persistence and determination, I’d easily put Machete star Danny Trejo somewhere around the top of that list. The actor’s Hollywood history speaks to that toughness, with his first credited role not happening until he was 43 years old, following several years of working behind the scenes and playing extras. But Trejo is obviously filled with the same feelings as anyone, and he recently recalled the tragic-yet-comforting story about facing a total emotional implosion caused by the most unexpected source: Kermit the Frog.

The 2011 feature Muppets Most Wanted is where Danny Trejo first partnered up with The Muppets, playing an inmate within the Gulag alongside Ray Liotta, Jemaine Clement, Tom Hiddleston and others. It was an experience he’ll never forget, and definitely not only because he put his musical skills on display. Sadly, the actor’s mother passed away in the midst of the film’s UK production, and his initial attempts to maintain a stoic stance while filming was rather quickly thwarted by the marquee Muppet himself. While answering fans questions during a panel at Fan Expo Dallas’s 2023 event, Trejo was asked about his working relationship with the Jim Henson-created group, and recalled how the “Rainbow Connection” performer caused an emotional implosion on the set. In his words: 

In no possible way, shape, or form would I have been able to offer a response that wasn’t just “dashing away before bawling” if I were in a similar position. So power to the Desperado actor for being able to make it through Kermit’s entire thought before making a beeline for the bathroom. 

He continued, sharing why he still feels to this day that it was his mother's beyond-the-ethers bidding that led to that moment.

Danny Trejo shared an expanded version of the tale in his autobiography Trejo: My Life of Crime, Redemption, and Hollywood, which was co-written with his Reindeer Games co-star Donal Logue. In it, he talked about how co-star Ray Liotta followed him into the bathroom, and how ridiculous it seemed after the fact that two of the most seemingly intimidating actors in Hollywood were both turned to mush by a faux frog. Albeit through the prism of highly talented puppeteer Steve Whitmire and the green-collared entertainment icon he was handling.

As hardcore fans of The Muppets and/or Trejo are likely well aware, the L.A. native has become one of the felt-faced comedy squad’s go-to celebrities across both the big and small screen, and he’s appeared in each of the original Disney+ projects: Muppets Now, Muppets Haunted Mansion and the recent tune-a-licious comedy The Muppets Mayhem. (They can all be streamed in full now with a Disney+ subscription.) To that end, the actor talked about just how easy it is to fall into the mindset that Muppets are just as genuinely real as those who bring them to life, saying:

That story is nearly as sweet as the one about empathetic Kermit. I bet that kid had as big a blast as anyone on any Muppets project set, especially if it inspired an entire script. While it likely won't ever come to fruition, I hope to hear in a few years about that kid growing up to join the troupe in some capacity, with Danny Trejo as the first guest star he brings in.

Ready to feel old? It has been more than 20 years since Vin Diesel set out to prove that Dominic Toretto wasn’t his only character willing to risk life and limb in the name of a good time. With the introduction of 2002’s xXx, and main character Xander Cage, Diesel etched out a place for himself in Hollywood as an action star who would come back time and time again to kick ass, pull off logic-defying stunts like driving cars off bridges, and drink more SoBe than a turn-of-the-century teenager could take down at the local skate park. But, what about the rest of the xXx cast? What have they been up to lately?

Sure, there are stars like Samuel L. Jackson, who has continued to have rising star power in the years since appearing in Rob Cohen’s energy drink-fueled answer to 007 and other spy franchises. Then there are those lesser-known names who made up the rest of the xXx cast. What have they been up to? Well, since there’s no such thing as too much xXx, let’s spend a few minutes getting up to speed with all of those familiar faces…

Vin Diesel (Xander Cage)

Vin Diesel wasn’t even a year removed from becoming one of the biggest names in young Hollywood when he snowboarded down an avalanche in xXx, and he hasn’t really stopped since then. 

Following his return to the Fast and Furious franchise at the end of 2006’s Tokyo Drift, Diesel has appeared as Dominic Toretto in seven additional movies with another on the way: Louis Leterrier’s Fast & Furious 11, which is slated to open in theaters in Summer 2026. 

It hasn’t been all muscle cars and insane stunts for the action star over the years, though, as he has lent his voice to Groot in various Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, with the most recent being 2023’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. The actor has also been heavily involved with the Ark: Survival video game franchise, including the 2024 Paramount+ animated series adaptation as well as the upcoming sequel to the 2015 action-adventure survival game.

Samuel L. Jackson (Augustus Gibbons)

A little more than half a decade after Samuel L. Jackson brought NSA official Augustus Gibbons to life in xXx (followed by its two sequels), the Academy Award-nominated actor entered the most successful and visible portion of his legendary career: the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Starting with 2008’s Iron Man and pretty much every major MCU movie since, with the most recent being 2023’s The Marvels.

In recent years, Jackson has also appeared in everything from multiple Matthew Vaughn movies like Kingsman: The Secret Service and Argylle to all kinds of animated films like Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank and most recently, The Garfield Movie.

Asia Argento (Yelena)

Asia Argento was already a well-established star by the time she took on the role of Russian intelligence agent Yelena in xXx, thanks in part to being the child of Italian horror icon Dario Argento and actress Daria Nicolodi, and continued with the Argento legacy in the years following. In addition to appearing in 2004’s Land of the Dead (written and directed by her father’s longtime friend, the late George A. Romero) as well as other horror flicks, Argento showed up in movies like Marie Antoinette and Misunderstood, serving as writer and director of the latter.

In 2014, the Italian actress turned her focus on writing and directing, but later returned to acting, and has since appeared in movies like Dark Glasses, Padre Pio, Queens of Drama, and the 2023 documentary Dario Argento Panico, which focused on her father’s career and legacy.

Marton Csokas (Yorgi)

After watching Marton Csokas’ portrayal of Yorgi, the former Soviet soldier who formed the Anarchy 99 terrorist group in xXx, it’s surprising to discover that the actor isn’t from somewhere behind what used to be the Iron Curtain, but instead from New Zealand. Before and after appearing in Rob Cohen’s spy thriller, Csokas appeared in the first and third chapters of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, in which he portrayed Lord Celeborn.

In the years since his character met an untimely death in 2002’s xXx, Marton Csokas has also made appearances in movies like The Last Duel, Chevalier, and most recently, Sleeping Dogs  

Danny Trejo (El Jefe)

Danny Trejo wasn’t quite the pop culture phenomenon he is today when he appeared as El Jefe, the drug cartel member with an affinity for torture in xXx, but he was already an established badass in Hollywood thanks to his ongoing collaborations with Robert Rodriguez. In the years following Trejo’s brief appearance in the 2002 action thrill ride, he has appeared in scores of movies, television shows, commercials, and random videos, so much so he’s entered a class of his own (seriously, he showed up in more than a dozen movies every year for a decade-and-a-half).

And it’s not just B-movies or horror flicks that have seen Danny Trejo over the years, as the man with a hardened exterior has made a name for himself in family-friendly movies as well, including the incredibly successful Minions: The Rise of Gru which raked in a ton of cash following its July 2022 release. He’s since gone on to land roles in Clerks III, The Curse of Wolf Mountain, and The Night They Came Home.

Michael Roof (Agent Toby Lee Shavers)

Michael Roof looked to be having a promising career following his performance as NSA Agent Toby Lee Shavers, the tech and weapon whiz who helped Xander Cage in xXx, but his life would end tragically just a few years later. 

His career included appearances in the Black Hawk Down cast, XXX: State of the Union, The Dukes of Hazzard, and a short-lived reality show called Raising the Roofs. Roof passed away in June 2009 at the age of 32, according to the Ocala Star Banner newspaper. 

Richy Müller (Milan Sova)

Milan Sova, the greed-driven double agent who turns on Xander Cage and sides with Anarchy 99 in xXx, is portrayed by Richy Müller, a German television and movie star. Despite being an irredeemable scumbag in the 2002 thriller, Müller has appeared in a number of family-friendly and straight-up children’s movies over the years, with his most recent effort being the 2019 German drama series, Skyline. 

Besides xXx, Müller hasn’t appeared in too many big-budget English-speaking features, but he’ll always be Milan Sova to those obsessed with Xander Cage’s first rodeo.

Werner Daehn (Kirill)

You can’t have a list of the xXx cast without including some of the most memorable henchmen of the movie, and what would that list be without the inclusion of Kirill, the sharpshooter whose smoking habit literally killed him, portrayed by Werner Daehn. The German-born actor, who would go on to appear in films like Speed Racer and Valkyrie, most recently appeared in the 2022 historical drama, Medieval..

Petr Jákl (Kolya)

Next there is Kolya, yet another member of Anarchy 99 who meets his maker after one too many encounters with Xander Cage. Petr Jákl, the actor responsible for bringing the younger brother of central antagonist Yorgi to the screen, like his character, is a bonafide badass, having competed in the European Judo Championships on three separate occasions (1995, 1998, 2000) before turning his focus to acting. 

In addition to appearing in xXx, Jákl has also shown up in movies like Eurotrip and Alien vs Predator, as well as the 2018 video game, Kingdom Come: Deliverance. Jákl directed  the 2022 historical drama, Medieval, which starred Ben Foster, Michael Caine, and xXx co-star, Werner Daehn. 

Jan Pavel Filipensky (Viktor)

Jan Pavel Filipensky, who portrays an Anarchy 99 member and best friend of the group’s leader in xXx is probably best remembered for meeting his maker during that bonkers avalanche scene. Outside of being covered in several hundred feet of snow, the Czech actor has appeared in things like Alien vs. Predator, Everything is Illuminated, and The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, though he has also appeared in spy thrillers like Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol. Filipensky most recently appeared on shows like Specialisté and Táta v nesnázích

Tom Everett (Senator Dick Hotchkiss)

What about Senator Dick Hotchkiss from the opening minutes of xXx? You know, the guy with the bright red car that is stolen by Xander Cage to prove some kind of point to the world. In addition to appearing in movies like Pearl Harbor, The Island, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (in which he played the 1935-1937 version of the titular character), Everett has shown up in television programs like Modern Family, Criminal Minds, and NCIS. He most recently appeared on the Hulu series Helstrom and the 2021 Netflix movie, The Starling.

William Hope (Agent Roger Donnan)

And then there is William Hope, who plays NSA administrator Roger Donnan in the early goings of xXx, although only briefly seen interacting with Samuel L. Jackson’s Augustus Gibbons when they agreed to the xXx program. If Hope’s face looks familiar it’s because he played Lieutenant Anson in James Cameron’s Aliens. Hope would later play various characters in the Alien video games, including the acclaimed Alien: Isolation in 2014. The veteran voice actor (he’s been in countless Thomas and Friends titles) even appeared in 2020’s Resident Evil 3 remake. His most recent credits include series like Red Iron Road and the 2024 Netflix limited series, Eric.

This is just a small sampling of the faces and names featured in xXx. With everyone from extreme sports legends like Tony Hawk and Mat Hoffman, as well as early 2000s hip hop star Eve all appearing in small roles at the beginning of the movie, xXx is more like a time capsule to the early days of the 21st century than anything else. Hopefully, we’ll be seeing more of Vin Diesel’s adrenaline junkie spy, Xander Cage, if the long-in-the-works XXX 4 finally enters production.  

Actor Danny Trejo has been known for his badass roles where he gained worldwide recognition playing Machete in the Spy Kids movies and then playing a more violent version of his character in the Machete series of an ex-Federale who takes revenge against those who have wronged him. He’s also had roles in numerous well-known films like Heat, Con Air, Sons of Anarchy, and xXx. What the Los Angeles native is also known for right now is being a proud father who wrote a touching post about his 34-year-old son's continuing sobriety.

It’s never an easy task to find sobriety, so it’s always important to commend that person for their accomplishments. Danny Trejo had no problem acknowledging his son, Gilbert, as he pointed his proud finger at his “best friend” in a photo he posted on Twitter. Gilbert Trejo has continued to make it on his recovery journey from drug addiction for the past eight years. He made sure to mention how proud he was of his son and the love he has for him. The 78-year-old actor also made sure to let the world know that there is hope in recovery.

Not only is Danny Trejo a real-life badass for supporting his son during his recovery, but for accomplishing his own recovery as well. When he was eight years old, his uncle reportedly introduced him to marijuana, only for that habit to spiral into drinking by the age of 12. He later became addicted to heroin as a teenager. Throughout the ‘60s, the Machete actor had a number of jail stints with everything changing in 1968 when a prison riot resulted in Trejo being in solitary confinement after hitting a guard with a rock. While he was confined, the action-packed star found faith and dedicated himself to sobriety. He was released from prison on August 23, 1969, and has been clean for over 50 years.

Recently, Danny Trejo played the voice of Stronghold in Minions: The Rise of Gru. The name definitely suits the character who is a member of the Vicious 6 with large muscles and metal gauntlets on his fists. Trejo felt like this role was a perfect fit for him because there was no need for him to change his voice. The film’s director, Kyle Balda, really did not want the Grindhouse actor to do any acting with his voice but to just be his true-grit self. 

Danny Trejo is prepared to handle anything in his acting career and family life. He joins the long line of fathers who are happy to know they have children who are just as dedicated to their sobriety as their parents were. Whether we eventually see a Stronghold spin-off or Trejo decides to continue his role as Uncle Machete in the upcoming Spy Kids reboot, this accomplished actor is still here to continue entertaining us all.

If you want to hear the animated vocal stylings of Danny Trejo as Stronghold, be sure to watch the 2022 movie release of Minions: The Rise of Gru in theaters now.

Minions: The Rise of Gru has already proven itself to be an early smash hit in July 2022’s first box office weekend. Apparently knowing the material the fanbase is showing up for, Illumination’s tiny terrors have made a killing for more than just Peacock Premium subscribers. Though one shouldn’t forget the rest of the Minions sequels’ expertly-picked cast, especially actor Danny Trejo, who for several reasons was absolutely a perfect match for this voice-acting gig. 

In the latest Despicable Me adventure, the actor known for movies like From Dusk 'til Dawn and Machete plays a pretty bad dude named Stronghold. A member of the Vicious 6 super group, Trejo's new role is akin to the role of Jaws in the James Bond franchise. Only instead of indestructible metal teeth, it's his hands that happen to be made of metallic menace.

During our interview for Minions 2, Trejo ran through the usual bag of tricks people might peg him as pulling from in his career. As someone who generally plays evil or anti-heroic characters in movies parents are more likely to be watching without their kids, even I was surprised at how perfect this casting was. This led to me asking just why Danny Trejo would be so sold on taking a voice acting gig where the audience is much younger than he's used to. 

The answer is something that runs contrary to the image most associate Danny Trejo with. While he’s a great villain, as well as a fantastic R-rated ass kicker, Trejo’s role of Stronghold does hew close to some of the stuff you’ve seen him do in the past. And, as it turns out,  voice acting is something Danny Trejo told CinemaBlend he’s a really huge fan of:  

Energy is key when talking to Danny Trejo, as the man will bring you in so many different directions, only to circle back to something you’d discussed previously. That’s far from a complaint though, as that sort of spirit stepped up our Minions: The RIse of Gru press day. In-between stories about how Trejo almost landed a key Sin City role, as well as tales of his many business ventures, the actor had nothing but love for Stronghold.

Riffing on his character’s appearance, Danny Trejo even remarked how, “the claws are good in a fight, but they’re tough for picking up toothpicks.” Even the fact that his character is physically bigger than Jean-Claude Van Damme’s heavy, aptly-named Jean Clawed, excited Trejo as we discussed the latest Minions movie. As we compared his Stronghold performance with his previous resume of armed figures of action, even Trejo couldn't help but get a laugh out of this next thought: 

Sean Bean might have something to say about that claim of being killed in every movie he's been in, but the point still stands. You wouldn't expect the man to love voice acting so much, but Danny Trejo has such a blast doing it that he and his representatives keep accepting projects like Minions: The Rise of Gru. 

Digging into the process of recording his voice role, you can see why Trejo was such a good choice for Stronghold. Further voicing his enthusiasm, perhaps the most important ingredient to Danny Trejo’s energy toward any project is his healthy inner child. It’s definitely something his family credits, as he further explains and exhibits below: 

Whether it’s the potential for a spinoff focused solely on his current animated baddie, or returning as Uncle Machete for the upcoming Netflix reboot of Spy Kids, Danny Trejo is ready to dive into whatever comes his way. While Steve Carell has strong thoughts on a Minionized Office, pairing this gang of helpers with the more action packed side of Machete’s character could go so many ways. 

Grounding ourselves back to reality, if you haven’t seen Minions: The Rise of Gru yet, you can head to a theater near you and change that! Plus, if you're a Peacock subscriber, don't forget that the rest of the Despicable Me saga is currently available to stream on that platform of choice. Bananas not included.

They’re back and they’re better than ever! Minions: The Rise of Gru has arrived in theaters as part of the 2022 movie releases, telling the beginning of everyone’s favorite villain, Gru, and how he came to use the Minions - ya know, those little yellow monsters - as his personal henchman.

But, with any Despicable Me movie, and especially with Minions 2, whether that be a main entry or a spinoff such as Minions: The Rise of Gru, there is always a star-studded cast, and that is the case with this film as well. Here is where you might have seen - or heard - the cast of Minions: The Rise of Gru before. 

Steve Carell (Gru) 

I’m sure it’s no surprise that Steve Carell, the man, the myth, the legend himself, has returned to voice the impeccable Gru - this time, in younger form for Minions: The Rise of Gru. But of course, you’ve seen Steve Carell in plenty of other places before, in both movies and television. 

Carell is probably known the most for his iconic portrayal of Michael Scott in the critically acclaimed The Office, but the actor has done plenty more in television since then, including the leading role on the Netflix original comedy, Space Force, a main role in the great Apple TV+ series, The Morning Show, a leading role in Angie Tribeca, and plenty of guest spots on many TV shows. 

However, Carell has also been plenty active in movies as well. You might have seen in comedies such as Evan Almighty, Date Night, Crazy, Stupid Love, or maybe even Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgandy. He's also done so much in drama as well, with appearances in critically acclaimed films such as Foxcatcher, Little Miss Sunshine, Battle of the Sexes, Beautiful Boy, and more. 

Taraji P. Henson (Belle Bottom)

Another fantastic talent on this list is Taraji P. Henson, who voices Belle Bottom in Minions: The Rise of Gru. This amazing actress has been around for some time and appeared in many movies and TV shows, with one of her biggest being Empire, where she portrayed Cookie Lyon, and received critical acclaim. 

She also has had several guest roles on many television shows, and was a part of the Annie Live! cast, where she got to show off her singing skills. 

Henson has also had a great run in movies as well, appearing in huge hits such as Hidden Figures, Hustle & Flow, Proud Mary, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Best of Enemies and so many more. 

Michelle Yeoh (Master Chow)

Another iconic actress that is added to the cast list of Minions: The Rise of Gru is Michelle Yeoh, who voices Master Chow, a kung-fu master. Most recently in 2022, Michelle Yeoh has been making headlines for her incredible performance in Everything, Everywhere, All At Once, but Yeoh has been active in the film industry for decades. 

She's appeared in many movies, such as the James Bond film, Tomorrow Never Dies, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, the romantic comedy, Crazy Rich Asians, Last Christmas, the Marvel Cinematic Universe film, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and so many others. 

Yeoh has also made her mark in television, with a role as Phillipa Georgiou in Star Trek: Discovery on Paramount+, as well as a role in the Netflix original series, Marco Polo. She’s also going to be in the upcoming The Witcher spinoff, The Witcher: Blood Origin. 

Jean-Claude Van Damme (Jean Clawed)

Playing Jean Clawed in Minions: The Rise of Gru is none other than action star himself, Jean-Clause Van Damme. This Belgian actor has made his name in Hollywood and appeared in a variety of movies and TV, showing off his skills as not only a fighter but as an actor. 

Some of his highlights in the film industry include the crime drama JCVD, Sudden Death, Maximum Risk, Double Impact, Cyborg, The Expendables series, the Kung Fu Panda franchise, the Kickboxer series, The Last Mercenary, and many more. 

Damme has made his mark on television as well, although it’s usually through guest appearances or hosting his own shows, such as Jean Claude Van Damme: Behind Closed Doors, Ramez Movie Star or other series. 

Lucy Lawless (Nunchuck)

You ever wonder what a nun with nunchucks would look like? That’s what Nunchuck, who is voiced by Lucy Lawless, answers in Minions: The Rise of Gru. This iconic actress made a name for herself back in the ‘90s in the series, Xena: Warrior Princess, and has only continued to grow as a star. 

Some of her biggest roles in the film industry have been Boogeyman, Justice League: The New Frontier, Bedtime Stories, and more. Lawless has lent more of her talents to television, with roles in several big-time shows after her time as Xena, including Battlestar Galactica, Sapartcaus: Blood and Sand, Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, Spartacus: Vengeance, Parks and Recreation, Ash vs. Evil Dead, My Life is Murder, and more. 

Dolph Lundgren (Svengeance)

Next up, we have Dolph Lundgren, who voices Svengeance in Minions: The Rise of Gru, and he came to fame primarily for portraying Ivan Drago in Rocky IV. Since then, he has appeared in a variety of movies and television shows. 

He portrayed the iconic He-Man in Masters of the Universe, and had big roles in films such as The Punisher, Showdown in Little Tokyo, Castle Falls, Wanted Man, Silent Trigger, and more. He also had a big role in The Expendables series, reprised his role as Ivan in Creed II, and was a part of the Aquaman cast. 

Lundgren has also had some time in the spotlight in regards to television, appearing in a recurring role in the CW's Arrowverse, on the flagship show, Arrow, as well as a main role in the series SAF3. 

Danny Trejo (Stronghold)

Let me tell you - Danny Trejo has been everywhere in Hollywood and is a badass, and it’s no surprise that he’s voicing Stronghold in Minions: The Rise of Gru. This man has way more credits than other actors. Seriously, just look him up, he’s all over. But, for the sake of the length of this article, we’ll go over some of his best. 

In terms of film, Trejo has appeared in many great ones, including Desperado, Heat, the From Dusk ‘Till Dawn series, Machete, Grindhouse, Dora and the Lost City of Gold, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Reindeer Games, and so many others. 

Trejo has also had a prominent career in television, with some of his biggest roles being a recurring voice part on King of the Hill, a role on the popular FX drama, Sons of Anarchy, and a role in the TV series based on From Dusk ‘Till Dawn - along with many guest roles. 

Russell Brand (Young Dr. Nefario)

Russell Brand has been around for some time in the business and he’s a great choice for voicing young Dr. Nefario, Gru’s partner, in Minions: The Rise of Gru. Originally, Brand became well known for hosting Big Brother’s Big Mouth, but continued to lend his talents higher profile projects. 

He starred in movies such as Get Him To The Greek, Hop, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Rock of Ages, Trolls, Arthur, and most recently, was a part of the Death on the Nile cast in 2022. He’s also had some parts on television as well, with most having been guest appearances or for his own shows, such as Brand X with Russell Brand. However, he did have an acting role as Lance on the HBO series, Ballers. 

Julie Andrews (Gru’s Mother)

Julie Andrews is straight up the love of my life and that’s because I adore Julie Andrews and her movies so much, and I am so happy that she’s back for Minions: The Rise of Gru to continue voicing Gru’s mother. 

Andrews is an icon in Hollywood. While she hasn’t participated that much in television, aside from a few guest roles and her work as Lady Whistledown on the Netflix show, Bridgerton, she has been huge in movies for decades now, appearing in so many legendary films that I’m sure you’ve heard of. 

Some of her highlights include, but are not limited to, The Sound of Music, Mary Poppins, Victor/Victoria, My Fair Lady, The Princess Diaries franchise, The Tamarind Seed, Torn Curtain, the Eloise at the Plaza series, and the Shrek series. 

Alan Arkin (Wild Knuckles)

Next up, we have Alan Arkin, who voices Wild Knuckles in Minions: The Rise of Gru. Alan Arkin has been active in Hollywood for a very long time, and has been nominated for many awards for his performances, so it’s no surprise that he’s adding  a voice-acting role to his already impressive resume.

Some of his biggest films have been The Russians Are Coming, Wait Until Dark, The In-Laws, Little Miss Sunshine (which he won an Academy Award for), Argo, Slums of Beverly Hills, Thirteen Conversations About One Thing, Million Dollar Arm, and more. 

He’s also appeared in a few projects on television, such as Escape from Sobibor, as well as The Kominsky Method. 

RZA  

Last but not least, we have RZA, an actor and a music artist, who is in Minions: The Rise of Gru. As an artist, who originally got his start as part of the Wu-Tang Clan, he has scored many films that you might recognize the music from, such as the Kill Bill duology, Blade: Trinity, The Man with the Iron Fists, and more. 

But, as an actor, he’s appeared in many movies and TV shows as well. Some of his biggest films were American Gangster, Nobody, The Dead Don’t Die, and Life in a Year, alongside many other roles. He’s also guest-starred on shows such as Outlaw, Gang Related, The Simpsons, and more. 

With so many big stars, it’s not surprising to see that the cast of Minions: The Rise of Gru have done so many incredible things. I for one can’t wait to see what they do next - that is, after having a run at those pesky little minions.  

There are some actor/director combos that audiences have come to expect on seeing. Sam Raimi has Bruce Campbell, Rian Johnson has both Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Noah Segan, and for Robert Rodriguez one of his frequent collaborators is the great, real-life badass Danny Trejo. However, these collaborators don’t have a perfect track record, and in the case of Rodriguez, Trejo, and Sin City, the actor's potential role in the comic book movie apparently went to Mickey Rourke for a rather hilarious reason. 

While speaking with Danny Trejo in advance of his upcoming movie Minions: The Rise of Gru, I had one Robert Rodriguez question I was burning to ask him. Funny enough, it wasn’t about his absence in Sin City, but rather Trejo’s omission from the cast of 2019’s Alita: Battle Angel. While he’s still not sure why he was left out of the anime adaptation’s roster, Danny Trejo off-handedly mentioned that he was up for the role of Marv in the Frank Miller co-directed hardboiled noir.

It wasn’t meant to be, however, as the actor apparently didn’t meet a very special requirement Robert Rodriguez had for the role. Addressing both his absence in Alita and Sin City, Danny Trejo said, 

To be fair, the character of Marv is supposed to be so hideous that most women are repulsed by him. We see this factor come into play during Sin City’s segment “The Hard Goodbye,” where Mickey Rourke’s character somehow finds himself entwined with the beautiful Goldie (Jaime King) just before her untimely death. 

Though there were prosthetics involved to make Rourke look closer to his graphic novel counterpart, his “appalling disfigured” face admittedly made him a natural fit as one of Sin City’s most dogged protectors. With a litany of pro-boxing injuries and reconstructive surgeries that followed, Mickey Rourke’s physical attributes (as well as his career’s resurgence after appearing in the Academy Award nominated The Wrestler) made him the right fit for the part.

It’s not like Danny Trejo wouldn’t go on to work with Robert Rodriguez again. In fact, it was only two years after Sin City’s 2005 release that the two men teamed up on one of their greatest projects: the short that would spawn Machete (which was featured in the theatrical release of the Robert Rodriguez/Quentin Tarantino double feature Grindhouse). It's a role that the actor would love to reprise, either in the upcoming Netflix Spy Kids reboot, or in the previously promised Machete Kills In Space. 

This story does circle back all the way to talking about Alita: Battle Angel: a film with a fanbase that’s extremely motivated to see a sequel, and that has Robert Rodriguez, James Cameron, and Rosa Salazar pushing for the project. Were the Alita Army fandom to push for Trejo to appear in this hypothetical sequel, his reaction to his potential casting is as positive as you’d expect: 

There you have it, folks. While it seems very unlikely we’ll be able to bring Danny Trejo into the world of Sin City (he's also not in Sin City: A Dame to Kill For), there’s still some prime opportunities to see the actor work with his longtime collaborator Robert Rodriguez. Who knows? Maybe there’s some room for Mickey Rourke to join in on some of these worlds too.

In the meantime, you can hear Danny Trejo bring Stronghold, one of the members of the Vicious 6, to life in Minions: The Rise of Gru, which opens this weekend (starting with early showings on Thursday). 

After years of many major animated movies like Trolls World Tour and Turning Red going straight to streaming during the COVID-19 pandemic, studios are finally bringing these family films back to theaters, most recently with Lightyear. Next weekend, the long-awaited Minions: The Rise of Gru is finally being released. So,should you plan to check out the flick starring a familiar bunch of overalled yellow bunches of fun? Let’s take a look at what the critics have to say. 

Minions: The Rise of Gru has had its share of delays over the years, with its original release date being summer 2020. But on the first weekend of July, the Illumination and Universal animated film is coming out. As the Minions: The Rise of Gru trailer teases, the movie will take audiences back in time to Gru’s childhood (in the 1970s) when he first meets the Minions. It serves as a prequel for the Despicable Me movies in several ways. 

On the review front, the response to the film is so far mixed. To get the most negative critique out of the way first, we’ll turn to The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw. The critic gave the movie two out of five stars and called Gru’s origin story “feeble.” Also, in his words: 

Bradshaw called the character of Gru “mildly funny,” but overall hopes the franchise is “laid to rest” after its fifth installment. Sorry to break it to you, but there’s already another Despicable Me film scheduled for 2024. Now let’s move to the more positive side of reviews for Rise of Gru. Slashfilm’s Rafael Motamayor for example called the new entry “pretty fun,” saying this: 

As Motamayor points out, the new Minions movie is especially entertaining when it comes to its use of its 1970s era, where a team of supervillains called the Vicious 6 come into the scene. The Telegraph’s Robbie Collin was also somewhat complementary about Rise of Gru in their review, with these words: 

Variety’s Peter Debruge found Rise of Gru to be predictable, but found its humor good enough to be entertaining. In Debruge’s mixed review, he said this: 

Empire’s Olly Richards caps our review roundup off with another middle ground critique, calling the movie “fun,” but also being aware of the shortcomings that perhaps hold the movie back from absolute greatness. In their words: 

There you have it. Perhaps that’s your best measure when it comes to deciding whether you’ll go to Minions: Rise of Gru when the upcoming 2022 movie hits theaters this July. Did you like the other Despicable Me and Minions movies? If you have and don’t mind some of the same old tricks, it sounds like this prequel is worth your time. However, if you’ve been hate watching your way through the others, Rise of Gru likely won’t be the one to knock your Minion goggles and overalls on. 

Minions: The Rise of Gru is coming to theaters on July 1. Check out what we know about the latest Minions movie in the meantime here on CinemaBlend. 

The idea of the Muppets spending the night in the spookiest of Walt Disney World’s famous attractions is so brilliantly funny on its own that I am surprised it has never been done before. The fact that the the likes of Will Arnett, former Community cast member Yvette Nicole Brown, Academy Award nominee Taraji P. Henson, and Darren Criss from the Glee cast will be joining them makes me even more excited to see the Disney+ original special. There are plenty of other humans in the Muppets Haunted Mansion cast to look forward to seeing interact with Jim Henson’s iconic creations, but we will begin with our spirited guide.

Will Arnett (Ghost Host)

In Disney’s original attraction, the Ghost Host is a disembodied voice, but in Muppets Haunted Mansion, the felted friends are guided by multi-Emmy nominee Will Arnett, who first skyrocketed to fame in the Arrested Development cast as the despicable Gob Bluth. The Canadian actor might have even gotten this part with his voice alone, which is famous from his role as Batman in both of the LEGO Movie installments and his own spin-off, as well as the animated Netflix original, Bojack Horseman, as the title character. Arnett will next lend his voice to the 2022 monster comedy, Rumble, and you can currently see him on The Morning Show Season 2 on Apple TV+.

Taraji P. Henson (Constance Hatchaway)

One of the most famous (and sinister) entities from the Haunted Mansion attraction is Constance Hatchaway (otherwise known as “The Black Widow Bride”), who will be brought to life in Muppets Haunted Mansion by Taraji P. Henson (no relation to Jim) - best known for her Golden Globe-winning role on Empire as Cookie Lyon, whose own spin-off is now in the works. On the big screen, she earned an Oscar nomination for playing Brad Pitt’s adoptive mother in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, earned praise for the Oscar-nominated biopic Hidden Figures, and earned laughs in movies like Date Night, Think Like a Man, and What Men Want (a gender-swapped update of What Women Want). She will also lend her voice, in 2022, to Minions: The Rise of Gru and is playing Miss Hannigan in NBC’s upcoming Annie Live! broadcast.

Darren Criss (The Caretaker) 

Someone with previous experience performing in musicals is Glee alum Darren Criss, who stars as the Caretaker of the Haunted Mansion in the Disney+ special, which is not too far from qualifying for one of his darkest roles to date. The 34-year-old appeared on American Horror Story: Hotel, won an Emmy as Gianni Versace’s killer in American Crime Story Season 2, and has crossed comic book adaptations off his bucket list by voicing Superman in two animated DC movies, Raphael in Batman vs. the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and playing Music Meister in the Arrowverse shows. The star of Netflix’s Hollywood miniseries has also recently lent his voice to two original anime series for the platform (Yasuke and Trese), and to Rick and Morty Season 5, as well.

Yvette Nicole Brown (The Hearse Driver)

Rick and Morty co-creator Dan Harmon made a star out of Emmy nominee Yvette Nicole Brown (who drives the horse-drawn hearse in Muppets Haunted Mansion) by casting her as Shirley Bennett on Community, despite already achieving sitcom royalty for younger audiences as Helen on Nickelodeon’s Drake & Josh. She was also a series regular on CBS’ The Odd Couple reboot, had a recurring role on Mom, and has been involved with both Marvel movies and DC TV shows with an Avengers: Endgame cameo and by voicing a lighter version of Amanda Waller on DC Super Hero Girls (to name just a couple). Her next big Disney project is Disenchanted - the long-awaited Enchanted sequel.

Chrissy Metz (Harriet)

Muppets Haunted Mansion finally confirms that Harriet (whose name appears on a tombstone in the attraction) is a ghostly opera singer seen near its end, who is played in the special by Chrissy Metz. One of her earliest breakthroughs (not meant to be a pun relating to her part in the 2019 faith-based film Breakthrough, initially at least) was playing Ima “Barbara” Wiggles on American Horror Story in its fourth season, but it was her Emmy-nominated role on This Is Us that made her a household name. She will continue to voice Mei Mei on Season 2 on Amazon Prime’s series spin-off from Kung Fu Panda, and her upcoming drama, Stay Awake, is in post-production.

Alfonso Ribeiro (Fred)

Playing Fred, a man who died when a "great big rock fell on his head,” in Muppets Haunted Mansion is Alfonso Ribiero, whom you may recognize best from the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air cast as Carlton Banks. If you do recognize him by his real name, then you must be a fan of Dancing with the Stars (on which he has appeared as a contestant and guest judge) or of America’s Funniest Home Videos, which he has hosted since 2015. 

Sasheer Zamata (Mary) 

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was the inspiration for a few funny sketches on Saturday Night Live, on which Sasheer Zamata was a main cast member from 2013 to 2017 before playing a ghost named Mary in Muppets Haunted Mansion. In addition to other comedies like the Amy Shumer movie I Feel Pretty from 2018, the animated Tuca and Bertie, or Netflix’s The Mitchells vs The Machines, the actress has also starred in darker films, such as Blumhouse’s Sleight in 2017 or the Joe Keery-led found footage thriller, Spree, in 2020. She is currently a series regular on ABC’s Home Economics and will voice a role in Disney Channel’s upcoming series Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur.

John Stamos (Himself) 

John Stamos has played many different kinds of characters since he became a star by joining the Full House cast as Jesse Katsopolis (whom he reprised on Netflix’s Fuller House). The actor has been a doctor (on ER, Glee, and You), a suave burglar (on short-lived ABC drama Thieves), a celebrity publicist (on short-lived ABC dramedy Jake in Progress), a playboy restaurateur (on Fox’s Grandfathered), and even a killer (in the 1991 TV movie Captive). However, it seems quite fitting that he is credited as himself in the Muppets Haunted Mansion cast.

Danny Trejo (Huet) 

I would not have been surprised if Danny Trejo was also playing himself in Muppets Haunted Mansion, but I love the idea of him playing one of the attraction’s most famous unseen characters, Huet. The 77-year-old Mexican-American actor and former convict’s breakout acting role was in Heat from 1995, the same year as Desperado - his first of many collaborations with Robert Rodriguez, including From Dusk Till Dawn and the Spy Kids movies. The next of his 400-plus credits will see him re-team with Taraji P. Henson in Minions: The Rise of Gru and, hopefully, his most badass character ever will return in Machete Kills… in Space soon.

Ed Asner (Claude) 

Since starting his career in the late 1950s, seven-time Emmy Award winner Ed Asner became a legend of both the big and small screen, from his role as Lou Grant on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, to playing Santa alongside Will Ferrell in Elf in 2003. The role of Claude in Muppets Haunted Mansion marks the final collaboration with Disney for the Up actor, who passed away in August 2021 at the age of 91. However, he is set to appear posthumously in several more titles, including a documentary profiling Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address and the star-studded animated film, Back Home Again.

Craig Robinson (Singing Bust #2)

One of the five Muppets Haunted Mansion cast members portraying the famous Singing Busts is Craig Robinson, who would evolve into one of the most prominent voices in comedy after his recurring stint in the Office cast as Darryl Philbin became a series regular role. This promotion came following the comedian’s starring roles in hit movies like Zack and Miri Make a Porno from 2007, Pineapple Express in 2008 and 2010’s Hot Tub Time Machine (and its 2015 sequel). The This Is the End star (who also had his own short-lived sitcom on NBC called Mr. Robinson) has also appeared in dramas like 2020’s Songbird and the upcoming thriller, Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon. 

Justina Machado (Singing Bust #4)

Sitcoms, dramas, and reality TV competition shows, as well, have defined Justina Machado’s career, which include recurring roles on shows like Six Feet Under and Jane the Virgin, her acclaimed lead role on the Netflix’s One Day at a Time, and her success on Dancing with the Stars as a contestant. She once worked with Steven Spielberg on A.I.: Artificial Intelligence and is a bit of a Scream Queen, appearing in horror movies Final Destination 2 and The Purge: Anarchy. After playing one of Muppets Haunted Mansion’s Singing Busts, Machado will star in Covid-19-themed anthology film With/in: Volume 1, and has landed the title role in Amazon Prime’s The Horror of Delores Roach.

Skai Jackson (Singing Bust #4) 

So far, playing a Singing Bust in Muppets Haunted Mansion is the closest Skai Jackson has come to starring in a horror movie, but her relationship with Disney goes back a long way, starting with her role on Disney Channel’s Jessie as Zuri Ross, whom she reprised on the spin-off, Bunk’d, after playing Dwayne Johnson’s daughter in G.I. Joe: Retaliation. She has lent her voice to a few animated Marvel TV shows, Dragons: Rescue Riders (Netflix’s series spin-off of How to Train Your Dragon), and an upcoming modern twist on J.M. Barrie’s classic novel called Peter Pan, Land of Forever.

Geoff Keighley (Uncle Theodore) 

The leader of the Singing Busts, Uncle Theodore (voiced by Thurl Ravencroft in the original attraction), is played in Muppets Haunted Mansion by Geoff Keighley, in what is technically his acting debut. His claim to fame is being one of the most high-profile journalists to specialize in video game reporting. In fact, one of his only other real acting credits is voicing an asylum patient in the PlayStation 3 release of Twisted Metal from 2012. 

Pat Sajak (Singing Bust #1) 

While Pat Sajak’s role as a Singing Bust in Muppets Haunted Mansion is not his acting debut, it is one of the few times he is not playing himself on screen, which he first did in Airplane II: The Sequel in 1982, before doing it again on TV shows like The A-Team and even Rugrats. Of course, his best-known “performance” is hosting Wheel of Fortune since 1983.

Seeing the likes of Pat Sajak and Geoff Keighley in the Muppets Haunted Mansion cast is quite a surprise, making one wonder what other surprises (and even scares) are also in store. Find out by watching the special on Disney+ on Friday, October 8, 2021.

During its syndicated eight-season run, Monk wasn't simply a cornerstone of USA Network's continued brand. It became one of the most acclaimed and meticulously watched original shows of the '00s. So much so that the unconventional detective procedural was the most-watched scripted drama show when its series finale aired.

Suffice to say, Monk was a very popular program, and it helped usher in the careers of several prominent actors today, while also hosting several notable celebrity cameos that might've slipped your mind over the years. If you're wondering what pre-famous stars appeared on this show, we're here to help. Here are the celebrities you might've forgotten were on Monk, including Jennifer Lawrence, Danny Trejo, and several more.

Jennifer Lawrence (Mascot)

Everyone needs to get their start somewhere. Before the future A-list actress became an Oscar-winning, franchise-topping superstar — and, you know, one of the biggest movie stars of her generation — Jennifer Lawrence earned her first acting credit by playing a character credited solely as "Mascot" (though she's referred to as "Jen") in Season 5's "Mr. Monk and the Big Game." The cameo is quite quaint in retrospect, knowing that the young actress in this minor part would become the major league mega-star behind The Hunger Games franchise, Silver Linings Playbook, and the recent X-Men prequel series, but the first-time actress makes the most of her screen debut.

Reflecting back on the experience on Conan, Jennifer Lawrence considered her time on Monk to be "really cool" but also "the most humiliating thing in my life." The reason? The up-and-coming soon-to-be-famous actress believed that she would have a bigger role than she ultimately had. She even told her church as much — much to her chagrin. But JLaw has no reason to be embarrassed! It's an amusing appearance and a fun debut.

Nick Offerman (Jack Whitman)

Before he became Ron Swanson in Parks and Recreation, Nick Offerman was Jack Whitman, a rug importer with unlawful intent, in "Mr. Monk and the Election." Prior to this appearance, Offerman was still coming into his own as a performer. His other acting credits remained limited to minor characters in City of Angels, Speaking of Sex, and Stealing Havard. Also, the TV actor appeared in Deadwood, The Practice, The West Wing, NYPD Blue, and 24, though Offerman was rarely seen in more than one episode. Arguably his most notable credit at this point was his recurring role in George Lopez.

Suffice to say, Nick Offerman didn't have nearly the same acclaim and notoriety that he has today, so it's understandable if you forgot about this brief pre-fame cameo in Monk.

Jane Lynch (Dr. Julie Waterford)

Before she found fame with her Emmy-winning star turn in Glee, Jane Lynch was proving her sharp comedic talents in a number of movies and shows, including Party Down, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, and The 40-Year-Old Virgin. Likewise, Lynch took on the role of Dr. Julie Waterford, a marriage therapist, in Season 2's "Mr. Monk Gets Married."

Though her appearance was limited to one episode, Jane Lynch showcases her dry wit and signature deadpan delivery throughout this performance. Even from this brief clip, it's easy to see why the actress found such an exceptional career in the years to follow.

Danny Trejo (Spyder Rudner)

With upwards of 400 credits to his resume (and counting!), Danny Trejo has been seen in a hell of a lot of movies and shows over the past three-plus decades. Perhaps it's not surprising, then, that Trejo found some time in his ever-busy schedule to appear in Monk. In the episode "Mr. Monk Goes to Jail," Trejo plays Darnell "Spyder" Rudner, a convicted quadruple murderer whom Monk corresponds with during his investigation. The convicted criminal and the eccentric detective form a connection from there.

At this stage of his career, Danny Trejo was a standout supporting player in Robert Rodriguez's Desperado, From Dusk Till Dawn, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, and the Spy Kids trilogy, along with other notable '90s/'00s movies like Heat, Con Air, Anaconda, Bubble Boy, and Anchorman, though he wasn't heading movies like Machete and Bad Ass just yet. Still, Trejo always makes the most of every moment. Monk is no exception.

Sarah Silverman (Marci Maven)

Between 2004 and 2008, during the advent (and first season) of Comedy Central's The Sarah Silverman Project, that show's title-bearing comic had a recurring role as Marci Maven, an obsessive superfan who forms a deep longing for our neurotic sleuth, in "Mr. Monk and the T.V. Star," "Mr. Monk And His Biggest Fan," and "Mr. Monk's 100th Case."

Prior to this notable performance, Sarah Silverman was a proven stand-up comedienne who became popular in the public eye through Saturday Night Live and other guest star appearances. She was certainly a name, albeit not as big as she is today; her concert film, Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic, even premiered in select theaters. But her time on Monk came just shortly before she would find greater success, both as a comic and actress. Nevertheless, this energetic supporting role showcased her developing talents.

Jon Favreau (Dr. Oliver Bloom)

Just a few short years before he jumpstarted the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Iron Man, called the shots on one of the highest-grossing movies in film history with The Lion King (2019), and became the showrunner behind The Mandalorian, Jon Favreau had a standout cameo as Dr. Oliver Bloom, a nefarious endodontist, in "Mr. Monk Goes to the Dentist." While it's a prominent appearance, the character ultimately only lasted a single episode — though it came at an interesting point in Favreau's expanding career.

Already established as both an indie-darling actor-writer thanks to Swingers and top-grossing director through Elf, Jon Favreau was well-proven at this stage of the game, but the actor-writer-director wasn't necessarily a household name. Therefore, it's hard to call this role a celebrity cameo per se — at least, in the strictest sense. But in retrospect, it's interesting to see Favreau in a minor guest role shortly before his career propelled.

Stanley Tucci (David Ruskin)

Admittedly, Stanley Tucci was well-established as an actor, writer, and director by the time the character actor appeared in Season 5's premiere, "Mr. Monk and the Actor." Nevertheless, it's a real kick to see the esteemed thespian reunite with his Big Night co-star to play David Ruskin, a method actor who vigorously tries to nail down Adrian Monk's whole persona. This inspired performance was such a delight that Tucci won an Emmy for this guest role, which admittedly makes it more memorable than the other cameos that we've listed. It's fitting, though, because it's arguably the best of the bunch.

Howie Mandel (Ralph “Father” Roberts)

There's something cosmically perfect about Howie Mandel appearing in Monk. In a pair of Season 6 episodes titled "Mr. Monk Joins a Cult" and "Mr. Monk's 100th Case," Mandel played Ralph "Father" Roberts, a supposed cult leader, in what appeared to be a winking nod to the actor's personal life. More specifically, Mandel is an outspoken germaphobe, much like Adrian Monk, which has hindered him throughout his life.

Likewise, Monk's detective career is often disrupted by his own individualized fears and phobias. The titular TV sleuth and the child actor-turned-game show host are, in a way, kindred spirits. One may argue that their paths were destined to cross, as they did here.

Snoop Dogg (Murderuss)

Playing the part of Russell Kroy, i.e. Murderuss, a rap artist who wants Monk to clear his name after he's accused of murder, Snoop Dogg proved to be an amusing guest star in Season 6's "Mr. Monk and the Rapper." Though the musician isn't the type of actor who disappears into his characters, Dogg is game to play up the heightened absurdities of this rap personality. The result isn't a "before they were famous" appearance, unlike many other celebs listed in this article, but Dogg is always an exceptional entertainer.

Ken Marino (Lester Highsmith)

Ken Marino isn't necessarily a household name, but there's a decent chance that you're familiar with his work. In 2004, following his time in The State and Wet Hot American Summer but years before he made Party Down, Children's Hospital, or Burning Love, Marino played Lester Highsmith, the ex-husband of the victim behind "Mr. Monk Takes His Medicine." It's a brief appearance and it might not have made a huge splash for anyone who wasn't a fan of Marino's brand of alternative comedy. But it's an amusing cameo that came only a few years before his profile rose — both in front and behind the camera.

Monk is available to stream on Amazon Prime and Peacock.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine features an outstanding roster of talent in its main cast. The wonderful Andy Samberg is backed by one of the best supporting ensembles currently on television, with Andre Braugher, Melissa Fumero, Joe Lo Truglio, Terry Crews, Stephanie Beatriz, Dirk Blocker, Joel McKinnon Miller, and Chelsea Peretti all delivering massive laughs year after year. The show would still be one of the funniest shows around if every episode solely focused on the characters they play – but one of the best aspects of the series is that it is constantly bringing in excellent guest stars who do some amazing work, including the likes of Danny Trejo, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Katey Sagal.

That in mind, we’ve taken a look back at the series’ eight year history and culled together this list of the best special appearances that have been featured – only focusing on those who have appeared in fewer than five episodes (sorry, Cadillac Bandit). From family members, to crooks, to crossover appearances, here are eight times that Brooklyn Nine-Nine successfully found the perfect guest star.

Katey Sagal And Bradley Whitford As Jake’s Parents

One of the cool things about practically any sitcom is the capacity to do a bit of stunt casting when it comes to the actors playing the lead characters’ parents, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine has consistently hit it out of the park over the years – with the greatest example being Bradley Whitford and Katey Sagal as Jake Peralta’s parents. As described by Jake in the Season 5 Thanksgiving episode “Two Turkeys,’ Roger Peralta is “a selfish drunken slut” and Karen Peralta is “a flighty weirdo,” but their personalities combine to very much explain their son as a person, and they both have made multiple hilarious appearance over the years (both together and separately).

Sterling K. Brown As Philip Davidson

Season 5’s “The Box” is easily one of the best episodes of Brooklyn Nine-Nine that we’ve seen (if not the best), and while the majority of the credit has to go to the writing for establishing and executing a wonderful ticking clock/locked doors situation, Sterling K. Brown’s performance is another massive factor in its excellence. Because it’s a comedy, the show tends not to spotlight a large number of evil sociopaths, but Brown delivers an utterly delicious turn as Dr. Philip Davidson, a slippery dentist suspected of murdering his business partner. Not only is it one of the best guest appearances (it earned the actor an Emmy nomination), but it opens the door for Andy Samberg and Andre Braugher to do some of their best work on the series as well.

Zooey Deschanel As Jessica Day

When Brooklyn Nine-Nine and New Girl crossed over in the former show’s fourth season, it was the latter show that definitely got most of the juice, as while the New Girl episode featured appearances by Andy Samberg, Andre Braugher, and Chelsea Peretti, Brooklyn Nine-Nine only has Zooey Deschanel in one scene. That being said, it still makes for a wonderful bit, as a hobbled Jake Peralta needs to commandeer Jessica Day’s car while in pursuit of a criminal. It’s brief, but Deschanel’s dialogue does include the line, “You want to commandeer this vehicle then you are going to have to commandeer this ass,” and that alone qualifies it for this list.

Lin-Manuel Miranda As Amy’s Brother

Amy Santiago’s high-strung personality clearly stems from the fact that she hails from a family full of aggressively Type A nut jobs, and it should be known that Jimmy Smits as Victor Santiago was a strong contender for this list (especially given his NYPD Blue history), but Lin-Manuel Miranda is just too amazing as David Santiago, Amy’s ridiculously perfect brother in Season 6’s “The Golden Child.” Miranda’s remarkable talents in real life certainly feed into his performance, making it easy to empathize with his sister’s frustration over constantly living in his shadow, and the back-and-forth one-upmanship in the episode is super funny – reaching its peak when it’s revealed that there is one thing the Santiagos can’t do well at all: dance.

J.K. Simmons As Frank Dillman

While perhaps not the most traditional pair, J.K. Simmons and Andy Samberg have done some wonderful work together over the years, having played father-son/best friends in I Love You, Man, and enemies trapped in a time loop in Palm Springs. In Season 7 of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, the history of that collaboration only grew stronger, as Frank Dillman makes a great foil for Jake Peralta. Considered to be one of the two best detectives Raymond Holt has ever worked with (at least at the start of the episode), Dillman shows off some crazy investigative skills after he is called in following what appears to be a prank-gone-wrong in the precinct, and the Oscar-winning Simmons sells every ounce of it with fantastic authority.

Kathryn Hahn As Eleanor Horstweil

Through the first few seasons of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Charles Boyle talks quite a lot about the horrible relationship that he has with his ex-wife, and when the episodes were airing it seemed that the character was being approached akin to Maris Crane on Frasier or Vera Peterson from Cheers – a.k.a. she would never actually show her face on screen. That changed in Season 3’s “Hostage Situation,” and the revelation of Kathryn Hahn as Eleanor Horstweil is incredible. Not only does the actor’s wonderful brashness fit well with everything that Boyle says about her, but she makes for quite a formidable foe as the food-loving cop tries to retrieve his “Boyle Oil” so that he can have a biological child with his wife.

Danny Trejo As Rosa’s Dad

Rosa Diaz will forever be a mystery wrapped in an enigma, with a backstory that somehow includes studying at a ballet academy, a stint in juvenile detention, and three years of medical school, but one thing that Brooklyn Nine-Nine has made clear is that being a badass is in her blood. Why else cast the brilliantly intimidating Danny Trejo as her father, Oscar Diaz? We’ve only seen him in one episode to date – namely Season 5’s “Game Night” – but he delivers a wonderful performance, first scaring the hell out of Jake Peralta when he turns out to be the only person who doesn’t ignore the silly police officer’s nervous rambling, and then later when he tells Rosa that he has accepted her sexual identity. We’re definitely keeping our fingers crossed he makes a return now that the show is coming to an end.

Marshawn Lynch As Himself

Casting sports stars in acting roles can always be a risky proposition, as some of them turn out to be not so great on camera. This was absolutely not the case when Marshawn Lynch appeared as himself in Season 4’s “The Fugitive, Part 1.” Rosa Diaz is initially ecstatic at the idea of questioning the football star as a witness during a manhunt for some escaped convicts, believing that he has a disposition similar to hers (evidenced by his relationship with the press), but she is ultimately horrified to discover that he instead is the kind of person who never shuts up and just babbles on and on. But who among us hasn’t been disappointed when we find out that our quesadilla doesn’t have any pico de gallo?

In reality, this list only accounts for a fraction of the great guest stars that have been featured on Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and we have every expectation that wonderful tradition will continue in the show’s final season. While we don’t know quite yet when Season 8 will air, you can check out what’s ahead on the small screen by checking out our 2021 Summer TV schedule.

When it comes to the toughest actors in Hollywood, it's hard to argue against Danny Trejo being at or very near the top of the list. The actor had a more unconventional road to stardom than others in the industry and has proven both on and off the screen that he's a tough bastard. Having already spent part of 2021 conquering a completely different challenge by appearing on The Masked Singer, Trejo left the masks and stages behind for an episode of NatGeo's Running Wild with Bear Grylls in which he decided to chow down on a spider with the esteemed host, as seen in the clip above.

Taken from the May 3rd episode of Running Wild with Bear Grylls, the video above featured Danny Trejo tentatively gobbling down a cooked (i.e. burnt) spider at the jovial insistence of Grylls. Sure, Trejo was hesitant and declined the offer at first, but to his credit, it didn't take very much convincing beyond that. After he ate the eight-legged creature, Trejo couldn't help but crack a joke.

Surprisingly, Olive Twist...er...Danny Trejo didn't have too much of a culinary reaction to eating the spider, but wasn't too flustered by the taste. That's seemingly because of Bear Grylls, who announced to his celebrity guest that burning the hell out of anything will give it a palatable taste. Hey, I can't say I'd agree when it comes to steak, or eggs, or ice cream, but if I ever need to eat a spider, that's a great tip to know for future reference.

The sixth episode of Running Wild With Bear Grylls Season 6 features the titular host trekking with Danny Trejo out in Utah's Arches National Park, traversing the canyons and, as always, doing what it takes to survive in a place considered inhospitable in modern society. The Machete star is another landmark guest in the current season, which has already featured the likes of Anthony Mackie, Rainn Wilson, and Terry Crews.

And while there's something notable about each and every person on that list, I think we can all appreciate Danny Trejo's appearance on Running Wild With Bear Grylls probably being one to remember. How many other 76-year-old actors would sign on to go out into the wilderness and do some of the insane stuff Bear Grylls has subjected other celebrities to over the years? Eating that spider might be the easiest thing he does. If I were heading toward my golden years, I'm not sure how quickly I'd want to appear the one TV show where the host notoriously chugged his own urine in order to show how desperate survival can be in the wild. But hey, I'm not saying I'd turn it down. (Anybody at NatGeo listening?) Big ups to Trejo for still making us all look like at this stage in his life.

Running Wild With Bear Grylls airs on National Geographic on Mondays at 9:00 p.m. ET. Grylls has long been the standard for audiences looking to see folks get weird in the wild, but there are other options those who love nature can watch. For example, audiences can enjoy some truly spectacular nature documentaries by heading over to Disney+.

Spoiler alert for anyone who hasn’t seen Episode 3: The Raccoon’s identity will be revealed in this article!

The Masked Singer Season 5 has been on a roll despite a bumpy beginning. The first two episodes have been quite shocking, with the reveals of Kermit the Frog and former Olympian Caitlyn Jenner (aka Snail and Phoenix, respectively). In Episode 3, the Raccoon was eliminated after scoring the lowest votes. While Raccoon’s elimination was expected, the person behind the mask was surprising, to say the least. After their elimination, Raccoon talked about how a scene from Two and a Half Men inspired their wild performance.

Masked Singer fans had been playing 'guess who' since the Raccoon first appeared in Episode 1. When the Raccoon’s head came off, everyone, including the judges and host Niecy Nash, was taken aback by Danny Trejo's reveal. As one of Hollywood’s go-to tough guys, seeing him on The Masked Singer went against public perception. The actor spoke with TVLine shortly after being eliminated, and revealed how the CBS sitcom and Aerosmith informed his final performance:

Danny Trejo channeled his inner Steven Tyler on The Masked Singer Episode 3, but compared to his competitors in Group A, the actor was a bit out of his league. Seashell and Russian Dolls alone ruled the night with their performances. Hearing Trejo sing Johnny Cash's “Ring of Fire” fit the image he’s cultivated after decades of working in Hollywood. So, him listing those particular songs gave the same rough-and-tumble outlaw vibe in costume as his typical badass persona. The rock or country genres suited him, given his action roles.

As with most seasons of The Masked Singer, having fun is an important part of the performance, but Danny Trejo likely wouldn’t have lasted in the competition for long compared to other singers. Even after three episodes, some competitors are already emerging as potential contenders for the top three. From the actor’s reaction, he was more into having an enjoyable time and trying something new instead of winning, so it seems like his original Two and a Half Men approach probably gave him what he needed. And, Trejo’s reaction leaned more into his actual personality outside of Hollywood. Despite his success, he is still just an everyday guy even in extraordinary real-life moments.

Even with so many acting credits to his name, seeing Danny Trejo’s face was still a welcome surprise, and he gave fans a peek into his influences after pulling off the funny moment. If you want to see who else is eliminated after Trejo, check out The Masked Singer on Fox, Wednesdays at 8 pm EST.

The Masked Singer Season 5 is officially underway, which means it's officially open season for viewers to sniff out the identities of contestants. With that in mind, I'm already hot on the trail looking into the latest clues and speculation surrounding a couple of contestants, and I think I have The Raccoon all figured out.

The Raccoon's first performance showed he's going to carry on the tradition of a non-singer who can survive on energy and charisma alone. I won't knock a valid strategy, but I also won't sit here and act like I think this is a professional singer by any means. With that to kick things off, let's revisit the clues of Raccoon's premiere episode and whittle down the possibilities one by one.

The Clues

The first clue package The Masked Singer Season 5 had for The Raccoon started with some real jailbird energy. While The Raccoon sat behind bars and etched off the days on a wall with his claws, he talked about having to go through hell to get a happy ending. He apparently faced death, and viewers were shown a knife.

The Raccoon likened himself to the fictional character Quasimodo, perhaps to suggest he's been locked away from the world. Raccoon said he bargained with God for another chance, promising that he wouldn't waste it if given another chance at life. To me, it seemed like this person spent some time either in prison or rehab and had turned their life around and found great success in a rebirth. Probably not in singing given their performance of "Wild Thing" by The Troggs, but hey, success can come in all forms.

The Raccoon may be a little rough around the edges, but obviously is a celebrity who ultimately found great fame after their fall from grace. With that in mind, here are a few possible options for who it may be, as well as who The Masked Singer contestant likely is. Like one raccoon said to another as they stood at the lip of a dumpster, let's dive in!

Joe Pesci

This is a guess straight from The Masked Singer panel, and honestly, not a bad choice. Actor Joe Pesci has long been known as a tough guy in Hollywood, or at least, somebody who plays a tough guy. The actor played a made man in roles like Goodfellas and also spent some time behind bars as one half of the Wet Bandits in Home Alone. Those aren't exactly real and daunting dark times like The Raccoon talked about in the clue videos, but The Masked Singer has thrown misdirects at its audience before.

Mike Tyson

Ken Jeong doesn't have a great track record for contestants on The Masked Singer, but he may actually be onto something with Mike Tyson. The prizefighter-turned-actor certainly isn't known for his singing ability, and given the two worked on the set of not one but two Hangover movies, one would think Jeong knew Tyson's voice well enough to pick it up out of a crowd. Plus, when it comes to celebrities with a rough past, Tyson spent time in prison for about 3 years. Ken Jeong has gotten a lot of crap for guesses in the past, but credit where it's due because this is a good guess.

Danny Trejo

Danny Trejo is a badass in Hollywood and frequently seen in many rough and tumble roles. Fans know it's not necessarily a coincidence that he's frequently cast in those roles, as Trejo spent some time in prison throughout his youth and went on to find great success. Certainly a strong contender for The Raccoon, but could he have the time in his schedule for The Masked Singer?

Danny DeVito

The man, the myth, the legend, The Masked Singer fans surely know Danny DeVito. The actor has that gravelly voice that is on par with The Raccoon's performance, and he plays the degenerate Frank Reynolds on It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia. With that said, DeVito hasn't really had a history of past crimes unless we're talking about playing Mr. Wormwood on Matilda. By all accounts, DeVito is a stand-up guy, so this one would be a bit harder to justify than other options.

Our Best Guess

Before I heard the singing and the clues about prison time, I heard the voice. There are some participants on The Masked Singer where no amount of modulation can hide a voice, and when they start singing, it's all over. I was already suspicious it was Danny Trejo before he sang a single note, and the first "wild thing" solidified it for me beyond a shadow of a doubt.

As I mentioned earlier, Danny Trejo was in and out of prison throughout his youth and eventually found a way out in acting. That "second chance" has kept him on a righteous path ever since, and while I don't know for sure what the knife is for, I'm assuming it's some sort of vague reference to the Machete franchise Trejo starred in. It's also worth noting the clue package featured an image of a winged raccoon attacking a snake in a manner similar to the eagle with a snake in its mouth on the Mexican flag. Trejo is Mexican-American, so that could be a nod to his cultural roots.

As for any additional clues, I noticed when The Raccoon stood next to Niecy Nash that the two were roughly the same height. Nash is 5'4 but was wearing heels, and Danny Trejo is 5'6. Height is usually a huge way to confirm a contestant's identity, especially if they're someone who has any height noticeably above or below the average. Given all that, I'd say I'm about 95% sure this is Trejo and would be shocked if The Raccoon is anyone other than him.

The Masked Singer airs on Fox Wednesdays at 8:00 p.m. ET. Do you believe The Raccoon is Danny Trejo? Sound off in our poll, and continue to check back in throughout all of Season 5 for more guesses on who each contestant may be.

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Spongebob Squarepants has been around for more than twenty years, with the lighthearted sponge and his band of sea friends bringing smiles and joy onto the faces of kids and adults alike. There have been many specials, a couple of spinoffs planned, and even a broadway musical dedicated to the sponge. But one thing that seems to have happened a good amount lately is movies, including the latest one. 

However, there is more to the cast of The Spongebob Movie: Sponge on the Run. While we are sure to hear some familiar faces, there will be plenty of guest cameos and spots that fans will love to see, from Keanu Reeves to Awkwafina. With so many characters, it might be hard to keep up, so this is who you should know about in the upcoming Spongebob Squarepants movie.

Tom Kenny - Spongebob Squarepants and Gary the Snail

Everyone knows the man, the myth, the legend, Tom Kenny. He will be returning to the character of Spongebob Squarepants in The Spongebob Movie: Sponge on the Run. Tom Kenny, who has played Spongebob from the beginning of the series, has also had some prominent voice-acting work, with main roles in Adventure Time, playing the Ice King, and the Narrator/The Mayor in The Powerpuff Girls.

Bill Fagerbakke - Patrick Star

Patrick is the best friend we all want and has been Spongebob’s best friend from the moment the series began – even if he is a bit of a goofball sometimes. Bill Fagerbakke, who has played Patrick since the beginning of the series, will be reprising his role in The Spongebob Movie: Sponge on the Run. Bill Fagerbakke has also lent his voice to many TV shows, such as The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, Dragon Tales, Kim Possible, and several others in guest roles and additional voices.

Rodger Bumpass - Squidward Tentacles

I feel like we’ve all become a Squidward at some point in our lives, but Rodger Bumpass has been Squidward for a good part of his own. Squidward Tentacles is the longtime neighbor of Spongebob who always seems to somehow get pulled into the yellow sponge’s hijinks – even though he doesn’t want to be. Rodger Bumpass will be reprising his role in The Spongebob Movie: Sponge on the Run. Rodger Bumpass himself has been busy in the voice world, with voice parts in big-time films such as Spirited Away and Monsters University, plus more.

Clancy Brown - Mr. Krabs

Now for another long-timer, Mr. Krabs is the greedy crab who owns the Krusty Krab, who is always looking to make a quick buck. Clancy Brown, who has voiced Mr. Krabs since the beginning, will be reprising his role in The Spongebob Movie: Sponge on the Run. Clancy Brown has had some prominent roles both in voiceovers and live-action, with parts in Thor: Ragnarok, The Shawshank Redemption, portraying Lex Luthor in the DC Animated Universe, and even stepping into the video game world voicing Hank Anderson in Detroit: Become Human.

Mr. Lawrence – Plankton

There always needs to be an antagonist in every show, and Plankton most certainly fits that bill. Plankton is the foil to Mr. Krabs. Owner of the Chum Bucket, he will do whatever it takes to somehow snatch away that Krabby Patty formula. Mr. Lawrence, who has voiced Plankton since the show’s first season, will be reprising his role in The Spongebob Movie: Sponge on the Run. Mr. Lawrence has had several voice roles, including multiple in Camp Lazlo, the voice of Filburt in Rocko’s Modern Life, and also a couple of other characters on Spongebob Squarepants, like Potty the Parrot, Larry the Lobster, and several others.

Jill Talley – Karen

Ah, Karen, the sassy wife that any married couple can relate to. Karen is the computer that Plankton is married to, and while their marriage can sometimes be rocky due to Plankton’s consistent need to grab the formula, she will always be there to support him. Jill Talley, another voice actor who has voiced the role since the first season, will be reprising her role in The Spongebob Movie: Sponge on the Run. Jill Talley has also had several voice roles, including a role in Adventure Time as Maja and several parts in Camp Lazlo.

Fun fact: Karen was actually named after the wife of the creator of Spongebob Squarepants, Stephen Hillenburg. Also fun fact, Jill Talley is actually the real-life wife of Tom Kenny! Talk about being a part of the family business.

Carolyn Lawrence - Sandy Cheeks

The squirrel from Texas with a brain about the size of her home, Sandy Cheeks is the smartest critter under the sea. With her mind, there’s no problem she can’t solve. Carolyn Lawrence, who has voiced Sandy since her debut, will be reprising the role in The Spongebob Movie: Sponge on the Run. Besides Spongebob Squarepants, she’s had multiple voice roles outside of the show, including playing the main role of Cindy Vortex on The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, and a guest role on The Fairly OddParents.

Mary Jo Catlett - Mrs. Puff

Let’s be honest – all of our parents were Mrs. Puff when we first started to drive, absolutely terrified, but that doesn’t change the fact that she’s a great character. Mrs. Puff, the best pufferfish around and Spongebob’s boating instructor, will be appearing in The Spongebob Movie: Sponge on the Run, along with her long-time voice actress, Mary Jo Catlett. Besides Spongebob Squarepants, Mary Jo Catlett was once very active in the theater scene, starring in musicals and plays like Hello, Dolly! and Diff’rent Strokes. Stephen Hillenburg himself actually sought out Catlett once he saw her perform on stage specifically for the role of Mrs. Puff, so there’s more to this pufferfish than you know.

Matt Berry - King Poseidon

While we’ve seen some versions of King Poseidon before, we’ve never seen one quite like this. King Poseidon is the ruler of the sea, and half merman to boot. In The Spongebob Movie: Sponge on the Run, he will be portrayed by Matt Berry. Berry was actually in another Spongebob Squarepants movie, Sponge Out of Water, but as a different character, Bubbles the Dolphin. Matt Berry has also had roles in The IT Crowd, Disenchantment, What We Do In The Shadows, and more.

Awkwafina - Otto

As one of the many new characters in this film, Otto is a welcome addition to the Spongebob Squarepants family in The Spongebob Movie: Sponge on the Run. Otto is actually Spongebob’s personal boat driver – because, you know, Spongebob can’t drive, even more than twenty years later. If only Mrs. Puff could see how far tech has come. Otto is played by Awkwafina, who is most known for her roles as Ocean’s 8 and Crazy Rich Asians. She will also have a starring role as Sisu in the upcoming Disney movie, Raya and the Last Dragon.

Keanu Reeves – Sage

You know him, you love him, and now, he’s appearing in Spongebob – as a tumbleweed.

Yes, you read that right. The great Keanu Reeves is appearing as Sage in The Spongebob Movie: Sponge on the Run, a sage piece from a sagebrush who is there to provide aid to Spongebob and his crew on their journey to try and find his pet snail, Gary. While this is most certainly one of the stranger roles Keanu Reeves has done, that doesn’t mean he still doesn’t have plenty of other movies as well. Reeves, who has been in hits like The Matrix, John Wick, and Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure will only add onto his list of films with this new installment to the Spongebob Squarepants series – albeit a little weird.

Snoop Dogg - The Gambler

The famous rapper and music producer Snoop Dogg will be lending his acting skills in The Spongebob Movie: Sponge on the Run by portraying The Gambler, a performer who is putting on a show at a Bikini Bottom club. While Snoop Dogg is definitely known more for some of his music and hits, he has had multiple film and TV roles, such as Pitch Perfect 2 and Dolemite Is My Name. He also has this great cooking show with Martha Stewart, titled Martha and Snoop’s Potluck Dinner Party, so if you want to learn to cook some fire recipes, head on over to the coolest pairing in television cooking history (in my opinion).

Danny Trejo - El Diablo

Moving on with the list of cameos in The Spongebob Movie: Sponge on the Run, Danny Trejo is next up to bat. Danny Trejo is going to be portraying El Diablo, the leader of the Flesh-eating Cowboy Pirate Zombies. While the title of that does seem a bit dark for a children’s movie, I’m sure that somehow it will be made fun and lighthearted for the kids seeing this film. Danny Trejo is more known for his multiple roles in the film and TV industry, including Breaking Bad, Sons of Anarchy, Rob Zombie’s Halloween, and several more – seriously, the man has been all over Hollywood. You will have seen him at some point or the other, which shows how awesome of an actor he truly is.

Tiffany Haddish - Master Of Ceremonies

Make way for a queen of comedy, because Tiffany Haddish is picking up a role in The Spongebob Movie: Sponge on the Run. Tiffany Haddish portrays the Master of Ceremonies, otherwise known as Tiffany Haddock, a fish who has a knack for talent. Tiffany Haddish is well-known for her roles in the movies Girl’s Trip and Night School but has had a couple of voice roles as well in The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part and Phineas and Ferb The Movie: Candace Against the Universe.

Reggie Watts - Chancellor

While a brief role in The Spongebob Movie: Sponge on the Run, the Chancellor, a character who is sure to bring on trouble for everyone’s favorite sea creatures when. The talented comedian and musician most certainly has plenty of work under his belt, but is more well-known for his part in the IFC series Comedy Bang! Bang! and also leads the house band for The Late Late Show with James Corden. But seeing him break out onto the big screen, even if the role is a bit smaller, is always great to see.

With all these stars and alumnus of the show coming back, The Spongebob Movie: Sponge on the Run will surely be full of fun for the whole family to enjoy. Be sure to check it out on Paramount+ when it premieres.

After he has wiped out countless enemies as Machete, taken on extraterrestrial warriors in Predators, and had his head attached to a tortoise rigged with explosives in Breaking Bad, you cannot deny that Danny Trejo is a badass. I mean, he is the central character of a movie that is literally called Bad Ass, in which he plays an elderly war veteran turned vigilante - a role that was practically written for him.

Of course, that is just how he seems in the movies, right? There is no way that a big softie like Danny Trejo is or has never been anything like the tough, intimidating forces to be reckoned with in his filmography… Wrong.

The Mexican-American grew up in some of the roughest parts of Los Angeles and lived the kind of life your mother wouldn't approve of. It was by self-proclaimed accident that Danny Trejo became one of the most beloved actors in Hollywood after changing his life for the better. He is one of few celebrities who can justifiably be called a badass, and the story of how he achieved that honor is one to behold.

Danny Trejo Is No Stranger To The Criminal Lifestyle

Danny Trejo is known for playing some pretty bad mofos throughout his career, from a professional thief in Michael Mann’s Heat to rapist Johnny 23 in Con Air. Playing a criminal may have come effortlessly to the actor because, at one time, he was one.

While he never did anything quite as despicable as what Johnny 23 was known for, Danny Trejo’s criminal record reads like a greatest hits compilation of increasingly hair-raising offenses in LA, from the assault and battery that first got him arrested at just 10, to grand theft auto in his teens, robbing liquor stores with hand grenades, and shootouts against rival gangs. He spent 11 years of his early life in an out of prison, but did find a silver lining to life behind bars, and not just his world famous tattoos.

Danny Trejo Has Fought In The Ring

While serving time in San Quentin in the 1960s, Danny Trejo made a name for himself as one of the California prison’s toughest boxing champions. While the sport has been banned in prisons for years, at the time, even professional boxers would come to practice with the inmates. Trejo proved to be their fiercest competition.

It was actually his experience in the ring that got Danny Trejo his first big break in front of the camera. While on the set of the 1985 action thriller Runaway Train to help perfect star Eric Roberts’ onscreen boxing skills, director Andrey Konchalovskiy caught a glimpse of the body art and decided to cast him as… a prison boxer, which would also lead to several more roles as thugs, inmates, or other unnamed tough guys before becoming a household name. How Trejo found himself on the set of said film is an even darker story.

Trejo Has Also Fought Addiction

One aspect of Danny Trejo’s criminal life that I purposefully saved until now to mention is his history with drugs, as a dealer and an abuser. He smoked his first joint at 8 with his uncle, had his first taste of alcohol at 12, and started shooting up heroin just a few years later. All of that would change in 1968 when, with the threat of the gas chamber looming over him following a prison riot in Soledad, he made a promise to God that he would get sober.

Instead of getting the gas chamber, he was released the following year in his mid-20s, which would mark the end of his life behind bars and the beginning of a new life free from drugs, alcohol, and all other crimes. Danny Trejo became the sponsor for a fellow narcotics anonymous member, who was a production assistant on the set of Runaway Train, which led to him being hired as Eric Roberts’ trainer and on screen competition in the ring.

Danny Trejo Plays A Great Bad Guy, But Saves Lives In Real Life

Acting in film and television may be the occupation that Danny Trejo is best known for, but, to this day, he also continues to serve his society as, what he insists is still his true job, a drug counselor, helping children at risk of addiction, visiting high schools, or whatever else he can do to use his celebrity status to set a positive example. In addition to the lives he saved since getting clean and sober, including his own, he has channeled his cinematic badass persona when coming to rescue as well.

In April 2019, Danny Trejo used his “super powers” to rescue a special needs child and his grandmother after he witnessed her flip her Ford SUV in Los Angeles. ABC7 reported that the actor and another stranger jumped to the scene and managed to free the child from his car seat and helped comfort him in the aftermath of the accident. Trejo has a longer record of playing villains onscreen, but when not on camera, he is a hero to the bone.

All Of This, And The Man Is 75 Years Old

From his impromptu child rescue mission, his countless action roles (and many currently in production), and just by looking at him, you would never guess that Danny Trejo will be turning 76 in mid-2020. It is a miracle we still have him with us in spite of everything he has survived, including drug addiction, prison, and low budget movie sets. Admittedly, though, he is smart to leave stunt work to the professionals.

While it may be a surprise to see this living legend can stay so young, Danny Trejo sees it a different way, believing that his life truly began just around 50 years when he get sober. Now, those are the words of an undisputed, real-life badass.

While most action movie stars just appear to be badass, it is nice to know that we have celebrities like Danny Trejo, whose art imitates his life. For more information and updates on the actor, be sure to check back here on CinemaBlend.

Over the course of eight movies, plus a recent spin-off, the Fast & Furious franchise went from being a B/C-rate Point Break rip-off with cars to one of the most exciting, enthusiastic, and profitable movie franchises in modern cinema. That doesn't happen accidentally. It's through the persistence, talent, and willingness of the filmmakers to go balls-to-the-walls nutty that this franchise has kicked itself into high gear. That madness continues with this year's Fast & Furious 9 (i.e. F9), which could be the penultimate chapter in this prolonged car-friendly, action-oriented movie series. Should that be the case, then it should be the priority of the filmmakers involved to stack the cast of the tenth movie with a variety of major superstars.

There are a lot of acting legends who would be wonderful for this fast and furious series, and we've rounded up a list of 13 megastars who we think should be considered for the final installment. Certainly, the likelihood of some of these superstars appearing in the 10th Fast & Furious movie are slim. But can't we dream? This franchise is all about defying the odds. Without further ado, here's who we'd like to see inside the Fast & Furious franchise.

Keanu Reeves

Much like the Fast & Furious franchise, Keanu Reeves was once seen as kind of a joke in pop culture until he proved himself in a major way. While he was a seasoned action star with movies like Speed and The Matrix trilogy, it was the John Wick franchise that really pushed Reeves into superstar territory. He knows how to commit himself to impressive stunts and action choreography, and he has a good sense of humor about himself, as made evident by his years of making comedies. Plus, the John Wick series also proves that he knows how to drive stylish cars. It'd be an easy win for Reeves and the Fast & Furious franchise. I'd love to see the busy A-list actor find a way to make an appearance in the 10th Fast & Furious movie.

Zoe Saldana

In case you haven't noticed, Zoe Saldana has lent her talents to damn nearly every major, money-making movie franchise out there in the 21st century. Her involvement in Avatar, the MCU, and Star Trek have turned the actress into a very lucrative performer, and Saldana should continue this trend by appearing in the Fast & Furious franchise. The actress has the action chops to pull it off, as she proven in Colombiana and The Losers, in addition to the films mentioned above, and she would only be a blessing to a franchise that continues to bring in the dough after 10 movies. If she were able to make the time in her busy schedule to make it work, she'd certainly be a great addition to the family, and she would help to make the series only more success.

Nicolas Cage

At their best, the Fast & Furious movies are wild at heart and drive angry. They like to keep things bonkers and kooky, and who better to bring things up to another level than Nicolas Cage? The Academy Award-winning actor is a one-of-a-kind talent, and his signature blend of absurd brilliance shouldn't be dismissed (even though, admittedly, he has starred in a few not-so-great movies over the years). The man is a genius in the right role, and he's also more self-aware than he seems — much like the Fast & Furious franchise (before everyone caught on to its pumped-up energy). The sole practitioner of nouveau shamanic can really drive thing up a notch or ten, and it would play to Fast & Furious' ultimate benefit to get Cage in Rage mode. Possibly as a villain? There are certainly lots of possibilities at play with Nicolas Cage in the Fast & Furious films. Let's give a go and find out!

Danny Trejo

With 397 acting credits (and counting!) on his IMDb page, there's no denying that Danny Trejo is one of the hardest working actors in the moviemaking business. Yet, the Machete actor hasn't made an appearance in the Fast & Furious franchise. That's a shame because, if he were given the chance, it would be to everyone's benefit. The action actor is one of the roughest, toughest working actors out there, and he can be funny as can be as well. The actor is seemingly game for anything, and that would certainly work in F&F's favor. Whether it's a major role or a brief appearance, he would be a welcome presence.

Samuel L. Jackson

Samuel L. Jackson is one of the most famous, hard-working actors in Hollywood. He has appeared in a lot of big movies over the years, most notably the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It's rather surprising, then, that Jackson has not been courted (so far as we know, at least) for the Fast & Furious films. It would make a good deal of sense. The actor can command great gravitas, but he's also very self-aware and extremely funny. The Snakes on a Plane star should have no problem challenging the goofy tone of the long-driving series, though the Oscar-nominated A-list actor would need to limit his four-letter vocabulary in this PG-13 movie series. No matter. Even if he can't use his signature curse words, Jackson would kick a lot of ass in here.

Salma Hayek

A well-proven talent with a lot of experience in action and comedy to boot, Salma Hayek would make a wonderful addition to the Fast & Furious films. The performer has what it takes to sell any sort of role in the popular movie franchise, and she could lend her skills to any number of different roles. If the producers behind Fast & Furious were smart, they could have Salma Hayek be either a long-lost member of the family, a stealthy new member of the heist-loving team, or a villainous part. Or something else. Get creative! Certainly, Hayek has the range to ace any character she'd be given in here.

Dave Bautista

With the Fast & Furious franchise set to come to its rip-roaring end with its 10th installment (or eleventh, depending on whether or not you could the spin-off, Hobbs & Shaw), there are a lot of actors who want in on the pie. Nevertheless, Dave Bautista isn't one of them. When asked if he wanted to part of the franchise on social media, his response was, well ... less-than-enthusiastic. Yet, the professional wrestler/Guardians of the Galaxy actor has certainly surprised us in the past. With The Rock and John Cena involved in the series, it wouldn't be out-of-the-question to get Bautista involved. But it would probably take some convincing, which might be difficult. Nevertheless, if the muscle-bound actor gets involved, his mix of action experience and comedy chops would play to the franchise's advantage. Some folks want him to play a villain, but I'd rather see Bautista work his magic in the Toretto family.

Daniel Radcliffe

Ever since his finished his decade-long commitment playing the title boy wizard in the Harry Potter series, Daniel Radcliffe has used his celebrity and high profile to make some bold and audacious movies. Think Horns, the excellent Swiss Army Man, and the forthcoming Guns Akimbo. This is a clear sign that Radcliffe wants to push himself in weird and wild directions as an actor, and that would make him an excellent addition to the Fast & Furious franchise. The actor has publicly expressed interest in joining the series, though he made the caveat that he'd have to play a non-driving character in the films. That should (hopefully) not be a problem. The actor could play anyone from a mysterious tech villain or a comedic relief rider in the midst of the action. Certainly, Radcliffe has the range to play an assortment of different characters in the franchise. Hopefully, they will find a way to put him in.

Donnie Yen

A major international superstar, Donnie Yen finally got his overdue recognition stateside with Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and the actor should be given another major American movie franchise to prove his talents. Enter Fast & Furious. While the action-comedy series excels at dangerous stunts and car-related mayhem, the action choreography can sometimes be lacking in comparison. But that certainly wouldn't be a problem should Donnie Yen should the scene. The martial arts star knows how to kick butt and takes names, and his talents would only benefit the money-making franchise. Most especially when it comes to its international appeal. Though, of course, with Yen involved, everyone wins, right?

Arnold Schwarzenegger

At his peak, Arnold Schwarzenegger was one of the biggest movie stars on the planet. The actor/politician has one of the most recognizable faces in the entertainment industry, and he's built his career not only from being a larger-than-life action star but owning up to his figure and atypical size with a good, knowing sense of humor. Those qualities would play wonderfully in the Fast & Furious movies. The series has only gotten better as it has gotten more tongue-in-cheek goofy, and Schwarzenegger's big, beefy presence would definitely play to the series' advantage. Can you imagine a fight sequence between Vin Diesel and Arnold Schwarzenegger? How awesome would it be to hear one of Schwarzenegger's signature catchphrases after he performs a (CG-created) high-speed action sequence? There are many great opportunities to be found with Schwarzenegger in these movies.

Jackie Chan

Jackie Chan is a legend. The martial arts superstar is one of the biggest movie stars in the world for a damn good reason, and the dedicated, proven superstar has whatever it takes to pull off the comedy, action, and dangerous stunts audiences expect to find in a Fast & Furious movie. He's gifted in every category, even as he gets older, and he would provide a lively, enthusiastic presence in this ultra-successful franchise. Get Jackie Chan in there!

Tom Cruise

Admittedly, the chances of Tom Cruise making time to appear in a Fast & Furious movie are not very high. The A-list actor is exceptionally busy with the last couple Mission: Impossible movies, and he might not want to play second-fiddle in an action-comedy ensemble that doesn't find him at the forefront. Nevertheless, should fate allow it to happen, Tom Cruise would make a great addition to the Fast & Furious franchise. The actor clearly loves to test fate with his dangerous stunts, and the superstar already proved back in1990's Days Of Thunder (and, more recently, in 2012's Jack Reacher) that he knows how to drive a slick and stylish car. Can you imagine if Fast & Furious found a way to go into Cruise Control? (You see what I did there?)

Meryl Streep

Hear me out: the Fast & Furious franchise has always prided itself on upping the ante and steering in ridiculous directions. It loves to put the pedal to the metal and go nuts at any given opportunity, whether it involves gravity-defying stunts, breaking any law of possibility, and casting some wild stars. In The Fate of the Furious, moviegoers were delightfully surprised to see Helen Mirren join the fun in an entertaining supporting turn. When it comes to the future of Fast & Furious, it would be in the franchise's best interest to add another high-caliber, Oscar-winning acting legend into the fold. Why not go big and ask Meryl Streep to join? After years of making serious-minded dramas (and the Mamma Mia movies), Streep could use this opportunity to cut loose and have fun. She deserves it, and it'd give the Fast & Furious series the pedigree that it deserves. At the very least, it would not hurt to ask.

Who are some acting megastars that you'd love to see lend their talents to the Fast & Furious franchise? Let us know in the comments below!

The story of Danny Trejo is an inspiring tale of a man’s redemption from life as a criminal to a life playing many, many criminals. Prior to pursuing what would prove to be a successful career in both movies and TV shows, the Mexican-American spent more than a decade in and out of prison before achieving sobriety and taking a job as a drug counselor.

In the mid-1980s, Danny Trejo was asked to assist with a drug issue occurring on the set of the thriller Runaway Train, which led to him landing a small role as a boxer, which he had experience in while serving in San Quentin. It would be the first of nearly 400 acting credits to the 75-year-old’s name, many of which are celebrated as some of the most badass characters in history.

Danny Trejo has so effortlessly mastered his badass persona that is often fun to imagine how he might improve other classic action movies. But of the countless characters he's played, which can we call his top 10 most badass roles?

SPOILER ALERT: This article contains some spoilers from the mentioned titles included in this list, including TV shows Sons of Anarchy and Breaking Bad. Read on with caution!

10. xXx (El Jefe)

There is a podcast called The Rewatchables, run by website The Ringer, that analyzes why some of cinema’s most memorable and beloved films deserve repeat viewings by navigating the discussion through multiple categories, one of which posits the question of whether or not a film would be made better with the casting of Danny Trejo. It would not be out of the question to assume that this category’s inspiration could have been sparked by one key moment in director Rob Cohen’s xXx.

Xander “XXX” Cage (Vin Diesel), an extreme sports athlete forced by NSA agent Augustus Gibbons (Samuel L. Jackson) to infiltrate a Russian crime ring to avoid jail time, is sent along with other prisoners to a drug plantation owned by the Columbian drug cartel as part of what Cage believes is an elaborate field test, until leader El Jefe (Danny Trejo) threatens to torture him by putting a machete covered in real blood in front of his face. Before the scene pours into more zany, popcorn movie spectacle, it makes great use of Trejo’s menacing presence in such little screen time.

9. Breacher (The Flash)

Danny Trejo had actually lobbied to play a different anti-hero from the pages of DC Comics in early 2016: an alien mercenary named Lobo, whom the actor matches the look of quite uncannily. However, a year later, Trejo instead earned his first gig as a live action DC character, after voicing Batman villain Bane on the animated Young Justice, in the popular CW series The Flash.

Barry Allen’s colleague Cisco Ramon (Carlos Valdes) finds his romance with Gypsy (Jessica Camacho) threatened by her father: an interdimensional bounty hunter known as Breacher (Danny Trejo) who makes Robert De Niro’s retired-CIA agent father-in-law to Ben Stiller in Meet the Parents look like Mr. Rogers. Breacher, at first, takes an immediate dislike in Cisco, but he eventually learns to respect him and even enlists his help for future adventures on The Flash, but never ceases to maintain his signature intimidating aura.

8. Sons of Anarchy (Romero “Romeo” Parada)

Danny Trejo made his debut on the hit FX series from creator Kurt Sutter as Romero Parada (referred to by friends as “Romeo”) a high-ranking member of the Galindo Cartel who enlists the help of the Sons of Anarchy to be Mayan drug-running organization’s primary weapons supplier. When the gun trading deal puts the Sons under suspicion, Jax Teller (Charlie Hunnam) approaches Parada in hopes to back out of the arrangement, only to discover that he is really an undercover CIA operative.

It is no question that Sons of Anarchy is one of the most badass television shows in recent memory and one tailor-made for an actor like Danny Trejo, who is given a character that, at first glance, seems like the obvious choice, until new layers of depth come to the surface. His rough exterior lends to his convincing portrayal of Romero “Romeo” Parada as a criminal, making the reveal of his double life as a man of the law all the more absorbing.

7. Con Air (“Johnny 23” Baca)

Danny Trejo has an extensive history of playing a bad guy, a role he has never had trouble fitting into considering his criminal background prior to taking up a career in acting. However, his role in Con Air, starring Nicolas Cage as an unfairly jailed father struggling to foil a prisoner revolt aboard a plane at the end of his sentence, is, thankfully, a far cry from his true self.

Much more bad than badass, Johnny “Johnny 23” Baca is one of the many vicious passengers aboard an ill-fated prison transport plane nicknamed the “Jailbird,” whose nickname and 23 heart tattoos refer to the recorded number of women he has been convicted of sexually assaulting, despite his claims that his name could have been “Johnny 600.” He is easily Danny Trejo’s most despicable character, but a necessary in ensuring that the otherwise often ridiculous criminal shenanigans of Con Air are dosed with a touch of chilling evil, not that John Malkovich’s Cyrus The Virus is not enough of a dastardly villain.

6. Heat (Trejo)

You know you’re a badass actor when your own character in an action movie is named after you. Danny Trejo is credited as simply “Trejo” in one of the most celebrated thrillers of the past few decades: Michael Mann’s Heat.

Danny Trejo plays the muscle of Robert De Niro’s Los Angeles heist crew in this tale of a cat-and-mouse game between a police lieutenant (Al Pacino) and the thief (De Niro) he is hot on the trail of after a job goes wrong. Until De Niro’s Neil McCauley kills Trejo, the then-51-year-old holds his own against the icon beautifully in what must be one of the proudest moments of his acting career.

5. From Dusk Till Dawn (Razor Charlie)

After learning that the duo were actually second cousins on the set of Desperado (more on that movie later), multi-tasking master filmmaker Robert Rodriguez must have made an unspoken promise to cast Danny Trejo in as many films as possible. He followed suit just a year later, putting him in the brief, yet impressionable, role of a gruff bartender who gets his name from his fanged grin in From Dusk Till Dawn.

We first meet Danny Trejo’s Razor Charlie in the irreverent horror thriller, which spawned two sequels and a cult favorite TV series, when on-the-run thieves and brothers Seth (George Clooney) and Richard Gecko (Quentin Tarantino, also the film’s screenwriter) and the family they have taken hostage (Harvey Keitel, Juliette Lewis, and Ernest Liu) reach their destination: a desert trucker bar called the Titty Twister. Little do they know that this joint is crawling with undead bloodsuckers, and Charlie is the toughest of them all. Even though it initially caught a lot of heat for tricking audiences into seeing a vampire movie, that flip-of-the-switch surprise is what makes From Dusk Till Dawn one of Robert Rodriguez’s most exciting B movies.

4. Bad Ass (Frank Vega)

I mean, how could we not include Danny Trejo’s heroic protagonist of the low-budget action comedy Bad Ass on a list of the actor’s most badass roles? The title of the movie says it all.

Inspired by a viral video of a bearded senior citizen engaging in a physical altercation with a verbally abusive man on a city bus, Bad Ass stars Danny Trejo as Frank Vega, a homeless, fanny-pack carrying Vietnam war veteran whose random act of kindness makes him a reluctant local celebrity, until the murder of his best friend inspires him to embrace his destiny as the vigilante his corrupt city needs. The adventures of Frank “Bad Ass” Vega would continue in two straight-to-video sequels (Bad Ass 2: Bad Asses and Bad Ass 3: Bad Asses on the Bayou) which partnered Trejo with fellow action movie veteran Danny Glover.

3. Breaking Bad (Tortuga)

The key focus of Vince Gilligan’s brilliant character study may be the evolution of Walter White (Bryan Cranston) from lowly high school chemistry teacher and devoted family man to ruthless drug lord, but its side characters are just as important and have lent to many of the series’ most striking moments. One of Breaking Bad’s most (literally) explosive episodes featured a special appearance by Danny Trejo as Tortuga, named for how he always wins by “taking his time.”

In a pivotal episode of Breaking Bad’s sophomore season, Hank Schrader (Dean Norris) starts his new position on the DEA’s task force in El Paso enlisting the help of Tortuga, a cartel member who has agreed to collaborate as an informant. While we may never see Tortuga do much else other than browse a Skymall and enjoy a cigar, seeing his decapitated head sitting atop the shell of a turtle rigged to explode later on in the same episode is undeniably one of the most badass moments of Danny Trejo’s career.

2. Desperado (Navajas)

They say to never bring a knife to a gunfight and, while that still rings true for just about anyone, Danny Trejo’s champion blade wielder in the second chapter of Robert Rodriguez’s El Mariachi Trilogy is the clear exception to the rule. Desperado sees Antonio Banderas succeeding the role of El Mariachi, a former musician with guitar case full of guns, who gets caught up in a drug war that pits him against a colorful cast of vicious villains, including Trejo’s character, Navajas.

In his most striking scene in the film, Navajas’ superhuman knife-throwing abilities seal the fate of Steve Buscemi, bring Antonio Banderas to his knees, and make him a nearly unstoppable force against a limousine full of heat-packing gangsters, until the bullets finally do claim him in an almost tragic end to such a memorable character. Danny Trejo could be called the De Niro to Robert Rodriguez’s Scorsese - a frequent collaborative partnership that began with 1995’s Desperado.

1. Machete (Isador “Machete” Cortez)

Of all the positively badass characters that Danny Trejo has breathed life into, there is no one else that could have topped the list than the title character of director Robert Rodriguez’s exploitation extravaganza Machete. The 2010 thriller and its 2013 sequel Machete Kills both follow Trejo’s ex-Federale on blood-soaked tirades against those who have done him wrong, aided by the likes of his priest brother (Cheech Marin), Sofia Vergara in a bullet-toting bra, and the President of the United States himself (Charlie Sheen).

You may think that Danny Trejo made his first appearance as Machete in a faux trailer preceding the B-movie tribute double feature Grindhouse, but, as Robert Rodriguez confirmed during an AMA session on Reddit, both the character of Machete and Trejo’s role as the inventive uncle in Spy Kids are the same person, just existing in opposing universe. That only makes Machete even more badass: an unstoppable, unforgiving warrior hellbent on punishing evil who transcends alternative dimensions. Maybe that should be touched upon in Machete Kills Again... in Space, if it ever gets made?

Even in his 70s, Danny Trejo seems as lively as ever with no sign of stopping anytime soon. Therefore, we may be guaranteed an amendment to this list one day as he probably has several more badass tricks up his sleeve.

Do you think our ranking of Danny Trejo’s most badass roles in movies and TV does the beloved actor justice, or do you want to strike a machete to our choices? Let us know in the comments!

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The Flash is finally back for Season 4 after a long hiatus, and the premiere managed to bring Barry back from the Speed Force and introduce the brand new supervillain who could be Barry's greatest bad guy to date. Of course, Team Flash was doing pretty okay in Central City without Barry up until the samuroid showed up to draw the Flash back out. A brand new trailer for what's to come in Season 4 points to Barry and Team Flash not meshing quite as well as they used to, as well as a first look at new superhero Elongated Man and Danny Trejo as Breacher. Check it out!

Consider me officially intrigued about what's to come! We already knew that The Flash would be getting back to some of its lighter roots in Season 4, and the trailer definitely points toward some much less serious action moving forward. That's not to say Barry won't also face dastardly bad guys in the same episodes as his Risky Business-esque dancing and couples counseling with Iris, but the footage is heavy on the lightness. The mummy that seems to have Barry in its clutches isn't the most terrifying creature to appear on the series to date.

Admittedly, Danny Trejo tends to be pretty terrifying in many of his roles, but he's not on board The Flash as a villain with a vendetta against Barry. Trejo is playing a character known as Breacher, and he enters the scene as the father of Gypsy. Cisco and Gypsy have been dating for a while, and Breacher isn't going to be thrilled that somebody is getting up close and personal with his daughter. While there may be some tension with Breacher on hand, he probably won't be trying to take over Central City.

The other new character to debut in this trailer only actually appears for a split second, and he doesn't wear any superhero insignia to set him apart as a DC Comics character. Nevertheless, we learned over the summer that actor Hartley Sawyer would be on board as a recurring hero by the name of Ralph Dibny, a.k.a. Elongated Man. Sawyer is visible in a single scene of the trailer:

When Elongated Man was being cast, producers were reportedly looking for somebody who could serve as comic relief. He is a private investigator in Central City known for his powers of deduction. Although it's impossible to say much about how he'll fit into Team Flash based on this quick glimpse in the trailer, I think it's safe to say that he'll be played for laughs.

You can catch new episodes of The Flash on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on The CW. For all the other superhero dates you need, take a look at our fall TV guide.

When we heard that Danny Trejo was going to be playing a part in Season 4 of The Flash, we were pleasantly surprised, along with wondering what his character was going to be like. Well, now we have an idea, and it sounds like we can fully expect all the greatness of Danny Trejo to be on display when he appears on the show this season. Here's what executive producer Todd Helbing had to say about Trejo's work on The Flash as Earth-19 bounty hunter, Breacher:

It's pretty obvious from Todd Helbing's words to Collider that he enjoyed working with Danny Trejo and crafting the character he portrayed. As he mentioned, Breacher is Gypsy's father, and it sounds like papa bounty hunter is none too pleased with his daughter taking up with Cisco. Even though the fans know that he's a great guy, it makes sense that someone who's probably spent most of his life tracking down bad guys would be super suspicious of anyone who tries to get close to his daughter. And, since Gypsy is also a bounty hunter, I can imagine that she got most of her skills from Breacher, meaning that she and dear old dad may be even closer than your standard father and daughter, and that Breacher is even more likely to be protective of her. Poor Cisco; he's finally dating the woman of his dreams and now he has to deal with her intimidating father.

Of course, it sounds like the new season of The Flash may show us a slightly softer side of Danny Trejo, as well. He, at the very least, probably won't be covered neck to ankle in sharp-ass knives, even though Breacher is sure to be a scary dude. When Todd Helbing talks about there being a "classic Danny Trejo" scene, I'm really trying not to immediately assume it means a scene where he kills someone. Especially since Helbing mentions how on point Trejo's comedic timing is, and how the show is using it to great effect when it comes to the tension between Cisco and Breacher. Cisco has always been more capable of bringing the laughs than any other character on The Flash, so I can't wait to see how he deals with his girlfriend's disapproving dad.

Well, we can see how this dynamic between Danny Trejo's Breacher, Cisco and Gypsy plays out in Season 4 of The Flash, which debuts on The CW tonight, Tuesday, October 10 at 8 p.m. ET. To see what else you can catch on the small screen in the coming months, be sure to check out our fall TV premiere guide and Netflix premiere guide.

Just when we think things can't get any crazier on The Flash after last year's Savitar fiasco, it looks like some awesome new characters are going to enter the fold. Season 4 of The Scarlet Speedster's solo series is going to feature some great guest appearances by actors Katee Sackhoff and Danny Trejo, and according to recent comments made by Caitlin Snow actress Danielle Panabaker, it sounds like they already fit in nicely with the series regulars. About Sackhoff, Panabaker specifically said:

Diving more specifically into Katee Sackhoff's recently announced role on The Flash, we can confirm that she's going to dig deep into her arsenal of badass skills to play DC villainess Blacksmith -- no, not the guy The Punisher faced off against in Season 2 of Daredevil. Her arc will be a mini crossover with Season 6 of Arrow and feature an appearance by Felicity Smoak as Team Flash tries to shut down her illegal, underground black market operation for meta humans and supervillains. Given her strong performances in projects like Battlestar Galactica, Riddick, and Oculus, there's a lot to get fans excited.

Then there's Danny Trejo, who is currently set to appear on Season 4 of The Flash as Earth-19 bounty hunter Breacher -- the father of Gypsy, and the potential bane of Cisco's existence. Danielle Panabaker continued in her interview with Fansided and described the surprisingly warm welcome the Machete star gave her when she went to meet him. The actress said:

If Danielle Panabaker was willing to hug someone as tough as Danny Trejo, then I will fully admit that she has more guts than I do. Of course, appearing on The Flash could represent a notable step forward Trejo's continued dive into the DC world. In fact, just last year the actor revealed that he wants to portray beloved DC anti-hero Lobo in a solo film at some point. If he knocks his Flash performance out of the park, it could potentially go a long way towards telling the folks at DC and Warner Bros. that he's the right man for the character's solo movie -- which has languished in development hell for years.

The Flash will return to The CW for its fourth season on Tuesday, October 10 at 8 p.m. ET -- right before the Season 3 premiere of Legends of Tomorrow at 9 p.m. ET. For more information related to this fall's biggest small screen debuts, check out our fall TV premiere guide!

It's only been a few weeks since Mission: Impossible 6 actor Tom Cruise injured his ankle on set, forcing production on the movie to shut down for a couple of months. In the time since, stunt safety has been on a lot of peoples' minds, and recently action star Danny Trejo got pretty blunt about stunts, noting that "it's a big myth" that actors do a lot of their own stunts, and that he doesn't feel like it's cool when unprepared actors--seemingly like Cruise--cause delays and other issues on set. During a recent Facebook Live Trejo said,

While Danny Trejo doesn't list Tom Cruise by name here, Cruise is the actor that recently got Mission: Impossible 6 shut down. And while director Christopher McQuarrie has said he's simply going to start editing the film during the hiatus in order to achieved the listed release slot, that doesn't take into account all of the cast and crew members who were counting on a payday for the next nine weeks or however long it ends up actually being. Sure, some of those crew members should be able to quickly hop to other projects or may just wait out the hiatus and come back to set once Tom Cruise's injury heals, but for Danny Trejo, actors who attempt dangerous stunts are still being irresponsible.

As for that Tonight Show comment, it's pretty common for stars to related crazy stunt stuff on daytime and nighttime TV. Tom Cruise recently did it whilst doing press for The Mummy, noting that while filming the plane stunt, people were vomiting and it was pretty gross. And Guardians of the Galaxy 2 star Chris Pratt revealed while doing press for the Marvel movie that he was knocked unconscious while filming a particularly tough stunt. Obviously, neither of those filming experiences ended with production being shut down, but Danny Trejo seems to believe that it's not worth the risk, either.

The actor also told Yahoo Movies during the Facebook Live Q&A that there are stunt people there for a reason, and that even though stunts can be cool and make for a good story later, he doesn't attempt them as an actor.

Stunts have been in the news a lot lately, and not simply because of Tom Cruise. Earlier this summer, a Deadpool 2 stuntwoman died while filming a motorcycle scene for actress Zazie Beetz. Earlier this year, something similar happened on the set of The Walking Dead when a stuntman fell off of a balcony. In both of those cases, an actor was not involved, but it still definitely has brought safety concerns to the forefront. One thing's for certain, you don't need to worry about Danny Trejo's safety. He's more than content to sit back and leave it to the professionals.

The DC Extended Universe is essentially breaking the internet right now. Last night’s CW special "Dawn of The Justice League" showed us how DC will be developing their universe, giving us sneak peeks at each of the upcoming films being released through 2020. The DCEU seems like an actor’s dream, and now it appears that actor Danny Trejo is ready to kick some superhero ass. Shortly after the special aired, Trejo took to twitter and posted a mysterious message, check it out below:

Danny Trejo as Lobo actually seems like pretty perfect casting. Trejo looks remarkably like the alien mercenary and he has certainly played similar roles in the past. However, the validity and intention behind Trejo’s tweet is unclear, and can play out in a few ways.

Most likely, Danny Trejo is attempting to cast himself and get some buzz around a potential involvement in the DCEU. It’s a strategic marketing ploy by Trejo to tweet when social media was revolving around the recently aired CW special. If enough people like and retweet his post, perhaps the higher-ups and casting folks at DC will see the demand for Trejo’s Lobo, and will figure out a way to write him into one of the many projects that are being developed by DC Studios.

Another possibility is that Danny Trejo has already been cast in a DC Studios project. Of course, this can span a few different mediums. Lobo is most commonly associated with the Superman franchise, as he made his first television appearance in the Superman: The Animated Series. While I’m sure Trejo would prefer to be in a film adaptation of the DC universe, there is a strong possibility we could see him on the small screen. With Supergirl showing no sign of slowing, perhaps we’ll be able to see Lobo and Kara duke it out on the CBS drama. His powers are more similar to her’s than that of Green Arrow and The Flash, so they would be a better match than the CW heroes.

While Lobo is definitely not going to appear in Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice, there is always a chance that he could pop up in The Justice League Part One. The film is still a big mystery, but the Justice League will presumably need a hand full of villains for the team of superheroes to battle.

Then again, he would probably best fit into the world of Suicide Squad, since Lobo is an anti-hero. Suicide Squad has significant buzz, especially after the new trailer, and will presumably be a massive success. If a sequel is developed, perhaps Lobo will be able to join the team or even serve as the villains’ villain. He’s got the smart mouth that Suicide Squad is using tonally, so this might be the best fit for the alien out of all the other DC projects.

As of now, the only concrete evidence is Danny Trejo’s tweet. We’ll be sure to keep you updated as the Lobo limbo continues.

The late, great Breaking Bad was filled with some of contemporary television’s most unbelievably indelible moments. One particularly morbid scene from the show’s Season 2 also managed find a place in the annals of WTF-ism. However, according to a recent comment from one of the show’s writers, the obscenely explosive scene was initially conceived merely as a joke among the staff. Spoilers if you still somehow haven't seen Breaking Bad Season 2

Participating in a Comic-Con panel this past weekend recounted by The Wrap called “Inside the Writers Room,” former Breaking Bad writer Gennifer Hutchison dropped a rather intriguing anecdote about the iconic “turtle” scene in 2009’s Season 2, Episode 7, “Negro y Azul.” The episode revealed that Hank’s complacent criminal informant Tortuga (Danny Trejo) met a brutally poetic death when the slain snitch showed up to a scheduled meet with Hank and his new El Paso DEA colleagues as a decapitated head on the back of a turtle. Theatrics aside, the evil art project was also armed with a bomb, which killed and maimed some of the present company. While Hutchison was not credited for writing that particular episode, she did pitch the idea of the scene in question. As she explains:

While the initiated viewer might be left wondering what exactly is so funny about an exploding severed head, it may be helped by the context of Trejo’s Tortuga character. In this case, with the writers apparently drawing a blank on an appropriate fate to match the character’s horrendous hubris, a moment that might have been the result of some spitballed, caffeine-inspired insanity yielded the idea of having Tortuga (“turtle”) go out quite literally on his shield...err, shell.

After the initial laughs, it seemed attributing some absurd sadism to the mysterious assailant would be a spectacular way to initiate the story’s necessary escalation. We’d learn the following season by way of flashback that the snappy-dressing Salamanca cousins were responsible for Tortuga’s height adjustment, but at the time of the initial episode, it provided the right amount of mystery about the show’s shadowy figures.

Hutchison’s explanation shows how the creative process is often the result of variables that can’t quite be whittled down to a perfunctory science, as some of the most seemingly absurd ideas can often become the most poignant of moments. In this case, raucous randomness seemed to be responsible for the genesis of this iconic scene, which both manages to shock viewers and up the ante in terms of the continually escalating stakes in Hank’s fight against an array of elusive enemies. For Hank’s new position in El Paso’s DEA branch, this “joke” managed to become an unforgettable “welcome to hell” moment reminding him that the scum of Albuquerque pale in comparison to the deeper recesses of the rogues gallery.

If you saw Machete Kills in theaters, then you probably also saw that hilariously ridiculous trailer for something called Machete Kills Again…in Space. At the time, we thought that was all we were going to get of the supposed third installment of the Danny Trejo-led franchise, but the man himself has confirmed that this is in fact in the works. Yes, we will be seeing Machete going berserk…in space!

Trejo told Halloween Daily News that he and Robert Rodriguez, his Machete director, will be filming Machete Kills in Space. (Apparently they thought the "Again…" part was unnecessary.) We won’t even have to wait too long for it, as he also said that they will be "working on it this year." If Trejo can’t land a part in Star Wars: Episode 7, 8 and/or 9, he’ll at the very least be able to brandish a lightsaber machete.

So, what will this new installment be about? Well, there was a lot going on in that trailer. The one that screened in a post-credits segment was merely a teaser to the video that landed online shortly afterwards. If that footage is any indication, Machete Kills in Space will see Machete, for some reason, shooting off towards the stars to save an enslaved planet and get all the space babes. "It’s all galactic and shit," Michelle Rodriguez so eloquently puts it, in her role as the eye-patch-wearing Luz. The trailer said that Alexa Vega and Lady Gaga will return, having portrayed Killjoy and La Camaleon, respectively, in Machete Kills. We also caught glimpses of Sofia Vergara's Desdemona with her explosive cleavage in the first teaser. However, the extended trailer also joked that Leonardo DiCaprio was the one playing the Darth Vader-looking fellow, and Justin Bieber was playing the android. So, let’s take the casting with a grain of salt... or six for the time being.

Will it be awesome, or will it be like that time we saw James Bond go to space in Moonraker? In other words, will it be completely unnecessary? We shall see. You can watch the Machete Kills in Space trailer below to get a taste of the crazy shenanigans that are coming our way.

If all goes well and the next installment starts filming this year, as Danny Trejo said, then we could be seeing Machete Kills in Space in 2016. This concept seems so crazy and ridiculous that it just might work.

Snickers, a company whose ads have often been as enjoyable as their candy, is bringing the greatest commercial of all time to the Super Bowl this weekend, in a promo that makes world-renowned badass Danny Trejo one of the Brady Bunch. (If you don’t also think this is the best commercial ever, Trejo-Brady may very well kill you in your sleep.)

Calling back to one of the most memorable Brady Bunch episodes of all times – in which Marcia’s busted nose was like, the worst thing ever! – the Snickers ad envisions Trejo as Marcia after she’s hit in the face with a football. There are some obscure metaphors out there, but being “Danny Trejo with an axe” angry leaves no room for misinterpretation. None.

Of course, the living room table is the only real victim of Marcia’s rage, as the always calm Carol tells her to eat a Snickers bar, and of course that calms her right down. I always thought it was silly when Snickers’ campaigns ran around the “Hungry?” idea, since a candy bar is generally the opposite of what a hungry person should eat. But I’m intrigued by their implied claims here that a combination of chocolate, caramel, peanuts and nougat are a suitable cure for murderous vengeance. I’ll take that prescription.

And if all that weren’t enough, in pops an angry Steve Buscemi as middle sister Jan, who just HATES that Marcia is getting all this attention. The way he prissily spins around and waltzes off is one of the best pieces of physical acting I’ve ever seen from the Boardwalk Empire actor. What I really want to know is, does this commercial count as a proper Desperado reunion for Buscemi and Trejo?

I love how fluid this all looks, and it really speaks to how far CGI has come over the years. Now I want to see Archer taking on goons with Maxwell Smart, or both versions of The Flash running around together. It doesn’t have to be Snickers doing it. This is an open call to anyone who wishes to make commercials for me.

There have already been a slew of pricy ads released ahead of the Super Bowl’s airing, from Kim Kardashian getting silly to high-octane movie trailers. But I still can’t wait to see what’s coming next.

Tune in for all the football and commercials (and Katy Perry) you can handle when Super Bowl XLIX airs on Sunday, February 1 on NBC.

Are you into Danny Trejo’s famous character Machete? We have some excellent exclusive clips to share with you, but they are both chock full of spoilers, so if you haven’t caught the film yet, you will be spoiled. Additionally, the clips are NSFW.

Machete Kills is rolling onto Blu-ray and DVD this week, and to celebrate Robert Rodriguez’s latest film, we have several exclusive clips to share with fans. The first is a visceral "In Memorium clip," which shows Machete’s ability to utterly destroy each and every one of his victims. If you have been interested in reliving many of the biggest deaths in Machete and Machete Kills, the clip is a must-watch. Preferably not while eating.

From signature machetes to bare-fisted fighting, Machete shows how capable he is of using his surroundings to the best advantage. The clip is filled with body parts being hacked off and organs pulled out. Blood spurts and the occasional explosion occurs. Basically, death is unrelenting for the victims of Machete in this four-minute clip, and watching these fight sequences in succession rather than across a lengthy movie gives me renewed appreciation for the imaginations of the writers of the two flicks (Rodriguez and Kyle Ward). If you have five minutes to spare, take a look at the "In Memorium" clip, as a small tribute to all of the characters that died and all of the makeup artists who must have been hired to make those wounds appear real.

If you are looking for a clip that’s a little more relaxing and features a badass Michelle Rodriguez, you can check out the second exclusive clip, also filled with spoilers, below.

Machete Kills is headed into homes tomorrow, courtesy of Universal Studios Home Entertainment. Both Blu-ray and DVD sets will come with the same extras, which include deleted and extended scenes and a "Making of" featurette. You can check out the box art and read more about the release here, or you can pre-order the set over at Amazon.

Machete Kills is the sequel to the film Machete, a film that was created from a fake trailer that was part of Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino’s Grindhouse. As such, it was a sequel no one asked for, but that doesn’t mean it’s the worst thing you could buy into. After all, Rodriguez was still on board to direct this time around, and a slew of famous faces also joined the cast. Soon, Universal Studios Home Entertainment is bringing Machete Kills onto Blu-ray and DVD on January 21.

If you don’t really care about that bizarre box art, it may be a better call to look into the Digital HD copy of the flick, which will be released a few weeks early, hitting the market on January 7. The new film was in the works for quite some time, with star Danny Trejo stating way back in 2010 that the sequel had already been written. With an all-star cast including Trejo, Demian Bichir, Jessica Alba, Amber Heard, Sofia Vergara, Trejo’s Spy Kids co-star Alexa Vega, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Mel Gibson, and Antonio Banderas, a passable plotline in which Machete is tasked with taking down an arms dealer, and plenty of time to shoot the project, you would think Rodriguez would have had time to make the sequel an excellent one. Then again, he always has a ton of other projects in the works at any given moment, which right now includes the long-awaited Sin City sequel, subtitled A Dame To Kill For. Whatever the reason, Machete Kills ended up being an uneven flick with both highs and lows.

Honestly, my favorite part of the film was the fake trailer for Machete Kills Again… In Space, which randomly includes The Biebs and Leonardo DiCaprio and features Alexa Vega, Lady Gaga, Michelle Rodriguez and Danny Trejo, as well. Luckily, if Machete Kills is not your thing but you are perfectly fine with rampant violence, you can relive the ridiculousness of that fake trailer as many times as you might want. That activity is a heck of a lot cheaper than the $34.98 Blu-ray that is Universal’s asking price. Thank goodness sets rarely sell for list price, anymore.

I’m not sure if the fake trailer will make it onto the Blu-ray or DVD, although I don’t see why not. It certainly won’t come as a special feature, as the disc itself seems pretty sparse. So, if you are buying the flick, it should be because you are a fan of Rodriguez’s work and still like the sequel. If you agree with that last sentence, you can pre-order the set over at Amazon or check out the full list of extras, below.

Machete Kills Blu-ray and DVD Extras

• Deleted and Extended Scenes
• "Making of Machete Kills "

This trailer is NSFW, where the W stands for "weenies who can’t handle awesomeness."

From the intermission of Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarentino’s Grindhouse rose the hilariously over-the-top Machete, and from the depths of Rodriguez’s passion pit came the even more outrageous but uneven Machete Kills. I’m pretty sure a couple of wishing wells and a fleet of warlocks will need to get involved in order for Machete Kills Again…In Space to ever see the light of day, but at least we have the above trailer for an explosive glimpse at what might have been had the sequel not tanked at the box office. The trailer was aired during the movie, so you may not have seen it yet.

Whereas the first two films were born of a love for exploitation films steeped in rapid-paced violence and thin plots, Machete Kills Again…In Space is an entirely original looking project that doesn’t hark back to any other particular film in cinema’s history. Particularly nothing George Lucas ever created that rhymes with Snar Bars. Well, I guess the blasters and lightsaber machetes do kind of make it look like Star Wars. But Michelle Rodriguez says "photons," and science fiction has definitely never seen those used before in a weapon.

If the film did get made, it would be good news for all those Leonardo DiCaprio fans who have been dying to see the talented actor step up to the plate against a nemesis as cocksure as Machete. That is, unless they’d find another actor to do it, since they left that open for themselves. But he probably wants to finally make that second film in his Colored Masks trilogy.

It’s amusing that the film gets an X rating, notably for prolonged sexual content and space violence, as it makes one wonder if such a harsh rating would do anything to hurt the film’s earnings. The second film’s $14 million worldwide take didn’t even match its budget. A shame, really, considering all of the actors involved probably starred in films this year that made twice as much money.

But if you were one of those who saw the film and loved it, you’ll be happy to know Universal has already dropped a street date for it. It’ll be out on VOD on January 7, 2014, and on Blu-ray and DVD on January 21, 2014, with bonus features including a making-of featurette and deleted and extended scenes. So there’s no need to go blow up a helicopter in anticipation. Machete’s got you covered.

In a world where the president has massive orgies, and a madman has a missile pointed straight at Washington D.C., there’s only one hero the world can depend on: Machete. In the trailer above—tipped by The Playlist ---you not only get a taste of the gonzo action, insane fight scenes, and star power Machete Kills has in store, you also get a dose of 3D with graphics that explode outside the video frame! How have we not seen this before?

As a sequel to the 2010 Grindhouse-inspired thriller Machete, Machete Kills has its titular anti-hero (Danny Trejo) recruited by the president (Charlie Sheen) to take down a deranged arms dealer (Mel Gibson), who has an army of super soldiers played by the likes of Lady Gaga, Vanessa Hudgens, Antionio Banderas, A Better Life’s Demian Bichir, Cuba Gooding Jr, and Sofia Vergara, a brothel owner with lingerie that can really bring a man to his knees. One of Machete’s few allies is Miss San Antonio (Amber Heard), his handler in this assignment from the U.S. government. But try not to be distracted by her beauty, it’s all a part of her cover as she explains in the following clip just before showing off her real assets, a deadly skill with weaponry.

Machete’s other ally is Shé, a one-eyed badass played by Michelle Rodriguez. Shé is no fan of Miss San Antonio and has no patience for the pussy-whipped, as you can see in this clip:

Lastly learn more about the “groovy” America in which Machete Kills is set with this campaign ad for President Rathcock, who is against illegal immigrants and gun control, but for space technology and the legalization of marijuana.

Also on board for Robert Rodriguez’s dedicatedly bonkers action-thriller are Spy Kids star Alexa Vega, Spy Kids 4’s Jessica Alba, and Walter Goggins. See them all in action when Machete Kills hits theaters on October 11th.

Danny Trejo was working as an actor long before Robert Rodriguez cast him as the knife-throwing badass Navajas in 1995's Desperado, but one also can't ignore what the director has done for his career. Not only has Rodriguez cast him in nearly all of his directorial efforts, but many of the films he has produced as well.

But easily the biggest contribution that Rodriguez has made to Trejo's career is the blossoming Machete franchise. In summer 2010 the ex-con became a legitimate action star and leading man when the director made a feature-length version of his "fake" trailer from Grindhouse, and the two will be bringing the character back again later this year with the release of Machete Kills. The partnership has been fruitful for nearly two decades now, however, today has introduced some potential drama for the duo.

Deadline is reporting that an independent producer is now suing Rodriguez for $11 million, claiming that the filmmaker used “threats and intimidation” to try and stifle the upcoming Trejo-starring action film Vengeance as well as a tie-in app. The site has a full excerpt from the five-count complaint issued by ITN Flix (which you can read HERE) that reads,

The situation reportedly began back in November when Trejo and Rodriguez's agent Gloria Hinojosa called Steve Wozniak - who endorsed the Vengeance app - to say that ITN's Flix's CEO Gil Medina was a "con man" who had no deal in place with Trejo. The company says that Hinojosa's call was made on orders from Rodriguez and that she "knew what she was saying was untrue because as Trejo’s agent she’d seen the various contracts the actor had signed with ITN since 2006."

Interestingly, Deadline notes that there was a point late last year when ITN tried to make a deal with Open Road Films, which will be distributing the new Machete film. According to the report, the company was trying to set up a deal where Vengeance could ride "on the marketing coattails of Machete Kills" and give Open Road an 80-20 split.

Vengeance is currently set to be released on November 11th of this year, just one month after Machete Kills will be arriving in theaters on September 13th.

As 2012 kicked off, Gina Carano kicked all kinds of ass in Steven Soderbergh's compelling spy thriller Haywire. The professional MMA fighter turned action heroine pummeled Channing Tatum, devastated Michael Fassbender, and annihilated Ewan McGregor with a fierce and efficient fighting style that's blows were so palpable they made critics crave more. Thankfully despite lackluster box office Carano's getting another shot at action stardom, fronting In the Blood, a thriller created just for Carano and her unique set of talents.

Carano will front the fight-fueled film playing a wife whose husband vanishes during their Caribbean vacation, spurring her into a furious and reckless revenge. We've been on board for this pic since it was first announced, and now THR has received some updates on the men who may share the screen and face off against Carano in her latest venture. Reportedly Stephen Lang (Avatar) and Danny Trejo have entered into talks to join the cast. Should they sign on, Lang will play Carano's hard-assed father that raised her to be a fearsome fighter; and Trejo will take on the role of a thug named Big Biz, who is destined for a sure-to-be epic showdown.

As much as I'm pumped to see Carano attack the big screen again, I'm carefully managing my expectations for In the Blood. First off, rather than Soderbergh, who applied a thought-provoking theme of gender politics to accompany the pulse-pounding brutality his film dealt out, this pic is penned by James Robert Johnston and Bennett Yellin, whose biggest shared credit to date is Joy Ride 2: Dead Ahead, and it's being helmed by John Stockwell, whose filmography boasts Blue Crush, Into the Blue, and the here-and-gone Halle Berry-vehicle Dark Tide.

Nonetheless, Carano is an action heroine unlike any I've ever seen before, so I'm rooting for her. Beyond that I'll bet the fight between her and Trejo, who has made a specialty out of playing incomparable badasses, will be worth the price of admission.

In the Blood kicks off production this November. Carano will appear next in Fast Six due out May 24th, 2013. Trejo has a perpetual tidal wave of projects on the way, but the most buzzed about is Machete Kills, which hits theaters on July 31st, 2013.

Robert Rodriguez loves casting some of the industry’s hottest actresses in his genre films, from Jessica Alba and Rosario Dawson to the lovely Rose McGowan. And if Machete star Danny Trejo is to be believed, Rodriguez is about to add yet another beauty to his acting stable.

Speaking to Moviehole, Trejo spoke openly about the upcoming sequel Machete Kills, focusing primarily on the ladies his killer-for-hire will be able to romance.

That's great news for Trejo, at the very least. Now, as Moviehole points out, this is the first time we’ve hear Saldana’s name attached to Rodriguez’s sequel. She fits, at least on the surface. First, she’s drop-dead gorgeous. Second, she has carried her own in multiple action films, from The Losers to Avatar and Colombiana. In fact, given the films Saldana has been in to date, she might bring the most experience with massive firepower that any other person in the cast.

But it’s one of Saldana’s other high-profile films that might get in the way of her shooting

[[ machete i kills ]] <="">, and that’s Paramount’s anticipated Star Trek sequel. As far as we know, J.J. Abrams has wrapped shooting on the film, which is heading to theaters next summer. But on a big-budget, effects-heavy film like Star Trek, the potential for reshoots always remain a possibility. Rodriguez shoots fast and on the fly, so it’s likely Saldana can work around a Star Trek obstacle if it emerges. But is she in Machete Kills … and do you think she’s a good fit?

Michelle Rodriguez is about to get very busy. Thanks to her previous participation in two relatively successful franchises, Rodriguez has buckled down roles in sequels that are about to go into production. As Variety reports, she’ll participate in the sixth Fast and the Furious film, which Justin Lin will direct(I guess that cat’s out of the bag_ and Rodriguez officially has confirmed a return to the Machete movies for Machete Kills, which Robert Rodriguez will helm.

Those who stayed through the end credits of Lin’s Fast Five learned that Rodriguez’s character, Letty, had not died (as Vin Diesel’s Dom has believed), and that she has become the latest target of Dwayne Johnson’s relentless federal agent. The Fast series has transformed into a high-octane soap opera, so bringing a character like Letty back from the dead isn’t much of a stretch. That and I always thought she fit well with the brash attitude of the burly franchise.

The same can be said for Machete, a modest hit for Rodriguez that’s carried by Danny Trejo’s exploitative charms, but certainly benefits from keeping Rodriguez’s character around. Variety says the sequel begins filming in Texas this May, and finds Trejo’s ex-federale trying to stop a terrorist named Mendez the Madman. In a surprise twist, Rodriguez has tapped Mel Gibson to play Luther Voz, who Variety describes as “a cunning arms dealer and death merchant who aims to spread war across the planet by launching a missile.”

Though Rodriguez isn’t a household name, she has been part of some massive films (including Avatar) and one gigantic TV show (in Lost). I’m happy she’s returning to both of these franchises, because she still has something to say in each of the roles. Do you agree? Or would you like to see Rodriguez try new things?

Pretty much as soon as Grindhouse his theaters, Robert Rodriguez was pushing to make a movie based on one of that film's fake trailers, the Danny Trejo-starring Machete. I was skeptical the entire time that he would ever make it happen, and now even years after Machete really did hit theaters, it seems almost impossible that it actually existed. Improbable as it is, Machete did well enough for Rodriguez that he's ready to make its sequel, and unlike all the other projects he's promised over the years, the sequel Machete Kills is gearing up to start production this spring, with financing in place and everything.

Obviously Danny Trejo is returning in the titular role, but he won't be the only returning cast member it seems. Bloody Disgusting reports that both Jessica Alba and Michelle Rodriguez are looking to reprise their roles, Alba as the immigration agent who starts up a romance with Machete and gives him a green card, and Rodriguez as the rebel leader Luz, a.k.a. She, who helps him in his fight against the bad guys. Both characters make sense to return for the next adventure, though it's unclear where they might fit into the story, which finds Machete working with the U.S. government to take down a Mexican drug cartel leader. There are also still plans to round out the trilogy with Machete Kills Again, which Rodriguez has said will take the hero to space, but I guess we should just tackle the sequel before getting ahead of ourselves.

With Alba and Rodriguez on board, will Lindsay Lohan be the next one to reprise her role? Is there anyone else you'd like to see sign on this time? Let us know in the comments

Playing a “bad-ass” type character isn’t exactly groundbreaking material for an actor like Danny Trejo, with tough-guy roles in films like Desperado, Grindhouse and Machete under his belt, not to mention TV appearances in Breaking Bad and Sons of Anarchy. But he sure is good at it. By the title alone, Bad Ass cuts straight to the point in describing Trejo’s character, and the trailer backs it up with lots of punching.

Bad Ass stars Trejo as a Vietnam veteran who defends a man on a bus and ends up becoming a local hero when a video of the fight shows up online. Rounding out the cast are Ron Perlman and Charles S. Dutton.

The previously released trailer for the Craig Moss directed film Bad Ass sells Trejo’s character Frank Vega as “mean,” “angry,” and “old.” And this latest trailer, courtesy of iTunes, emphasizes the man’s inexperience at computers and the internet.

The beard offsets the fanny-pack nicely, I think. Bad Ass seems like it might have a sort of Falling Down quality to it, with its focus on a frustrated character who’s not going to take it anymore. Then of course, there's all the punching and action, including what looked like a train hitting a bus.

Bad Ass arrives in theaters on April 13. More information can be found in our Blend Film Database.

Treyarch is enlisting Hollywood talent for the Call of Duty: Black Ops Escalation zombie co-op level, "Call of the Dead." Night of the Living Dead director George Romero headlines a cast of celebrities that will appear in the map.

Romero will be joined by Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Robert Englund (Nightmare on Elm Street), Michael Rooker (The Walking Dead) and Danny Trejo (Machete). Those four will be the playable characters. Romero appears as a super zombie of sorts.

The map takes place in and around a stranded freighter in an arctic environment. The trailer presents it like a "grindhouse" film with faded colors. Wonder if they'll use a filter to replicate that effect in-game as well.

"Call of the Dead" is one of five maps included with the Escalation Map Pack. The other four - "Zoo", "Hotel", "Convoy", "Stockpile" - are for the normal competitive multiplayer modes. The maps will be released through Xbox Live on May 3rd and hit the PS3 and PC a month or so afterward.

At the end of Robert Rodriguez's Machete, the director made a pretty steep promise: multiple sequels. Had the film been more successful it wouldn't be an issue, but the fact is that the movie made less than $40 million internationally (though that's pretty solid for a movie made for only $10.5 million). It's unclear if a sequel will ever go into production, but one thing is for certain: a script exists.

Bloody Disgusting has learned from Machete himself, Danny Trejo, that Rodriguez has already written the script and, as promised, the next film will be called Machete Kills, followed by Machete Kills Again. Quoth Trejo, "I asked him when he was going to write it and he says it's written, so we can get started pretty quick." Rodriguez is currently filming Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World with Jessica Alba, Jeremy Piven and Joel McHale, and has promised that his next film after that would be the long-awaited Sin City 2 (Right...). If Rodriguez does stick to that schedule, and doesn't decide to make Nerveracker or Madman afterward, then Machete Kills could realistically be in production by 2012.

Like the few that did end up seeing it, I actually really enjoyed Machete and thought it was a quality badass B-movie. While the movie did under-perform, a sequel could be made for so little money that it shouldn't be a hindrance. Let's hope this gets done.

It took almost 200 films and 27 years, but on Friday Danny Trejo will hit theaters in his first leading role: Machete. Though the actor has always been known as a total badass, never has it been more evident than in his role as an ex-federale trying to take down a corrupt senator and get revenge for the death of his family. Even at 66-years-old, Trejo is able to execute bloody carnage better than action stars half his age. It's taken too long. Trejo should have been an action hero long before this, and what better way to prove that than by taking Machete out of his own universe and placing him in some of the greatest action films of all time instead.

Here's what the world would have been like, had Danny Trejo received his due a long time ago. I've remade five classic, iconic action movies in Machete's image. In a world… where Machete replaces characters like Roger Murtaugh, Snake Plissken, John McClane, Sarah Connor and Neo… Machete wouldn't do things their way. Here's what happens when you mess with the wrong Mexican… in other movies.

Getting a call about a suicide jumper, Machete and Riggs rush to the scene. After Riggs handles the situation by handcuffing himself to the jumper and leaping with him on to the airbag below, Machete grabs him and rushes him to a local coffee shop. While Murtaugh handled the situation by giving Riggs a gun and telling him to shoot himself, Machete chooses a different tact. Whipping out his signature blade, Machete stabs Riggs in the shoulder, being sure to not hit any bones. He then tells Riggs about his need to take down Torrez, the leader of the drug cartel who killed his wife and daughter and that no psycho gringo is going to stand in his way.

Both understanding Machete's pain over losing his wife and realizing that the Mexican federale is far crazier than himself, Riggs makes a decision to sober up and help Machete in any way that he can. Machete says, “Fuck you, puto” and exits the coffee shop with Riggs still pinned to the wall. Viewing these events from across the street, Mr. Joshua says, “Fuck it,” packs up and decides to leave the country to ensure his own safety.

Following the crash of Air Force One in New York, which has now become a city-sized prison, recently arrested Machete is called on by USPF Commissioner Bob Hauk as the one to rescue the president from those holding him hostage. But before going behind the walls, Machete is told that he needs to be given a routine injection. While the doctor's first 10 needles break on Machete's rough, leather-textured skin, they finally succeed and Machete is then informed that they have, in fact, just injected him with an explosive device that will kill him should he fail to complete his mission in the next 24 hours.

Incredibly pissed off, Machete grumbles and takes one of his many knives off of his vest. As Hauk and the doctor watch in horror, Machete digs the explosives out of his neck and throws it down at Hauk's feet. ”I make my own time, chingado.” Machete, bleeding from his neck, goes to the glider and rescues the president. Before leaving the island, however, Machete stabs The Duke in the gut, bangs all of the female Gypsies, and gets all of the prisoners to begin acting right and organize a society – all within the 24 hours originally allotted to him.

For John McClane, the handling of the hostage situation at Nakatomi Plaza was about subtlety and sneaking around. Machete doesn't do subtle – this is the man who breaks into a drug dealer's compound by driving a car through it. So while standing in his wife's office, listening to Hans Gruber and his men take control of the room, Machete immediately leaps into action and cuts off Karl's right arm.

In a state of utter shock, watching his plan go to hell after only 30 seconds, Hans stands in the doorway, limp-wristed as Machete walks over to him. Machete takes the gun from Hans' hand, takes out the bullets, and gives it back to him, saying, “No bullets, concha?” Machete then headbutts him, knocking him unconscious, and throws him through a plate glass window. Having no idea what to do without their leader, the rest of the gang drops their weapons and walk out the door with their hands in the air. The Machete version of Die Hard has a seven minute run time.

While his knowledge of technology is limited (he knows how to supe up a car, videotape a threesome, and only recently learned how to text), Machete is the man that can lead the resistance against the robot uprising. To eliminate him as a threat, the robots send a 800 Series Terminator back in time to destroy him. Unable to locate Machete (his number is unlisted), the Terminator begins to intimidate and kill civilians to find him. Big mistake.

Word travels back to Machete about this and he assembles an underground network of illegal immigrants fighting for their rights in America. Riding around in an army of low-riders and motorcycles, armed to the teeth, the group finds the Terminator and the battle begins. While the Terminator is able to hold is own against the motorcycles and bullets, he meets his end when he is crushed to death under Machete's hydraulically-lifted car.

As evidenced during his battle with The Terminator, just because Machete lacks education about technology doesn't mean he's not the right one to do battle against it. So when Trinity and Morpheus approach the ex-federale about ending human slavery in the Matrix, Machete takes the red pill. After being brought into the real world, he's offered training to understand what he's truly capable of, but refuses because he believes that any further training would be pointless. He then plugs himself into the Matrix to do battle with the Agents by himself, confusing everyone on board the Nebuchadnezzar. Morpheus explains it by saying that, “He is starting to believe.”

Machete wanders into an old apartment building and the Agents think they have him trapped. They fire round after round at him, but the bullets cannot penetrate his sun-baked skin. Machete retaliates by decapitating all three Agents. Agent Smith laughs, thinking that he can just move into another body. What he doesn't understand is that when Machete kills something, it stays dead. Humanity is freed, Zion is saved and America doesn't have to sit through the sequels. It's a happy ending for everybody.

Danny Trejo has been working as an actor since the early 1980s and has made almost 200 films, but the release of Machete this Friday will mark a first for him: it's his first starring role in a major film. He's not a beautiful man by any means (Robert Rodriguez likes to say that you can go rock climbing on his face), but he is a professional, he's a bad ass, and, by most accounts, a terrific human being. Now, after years of being a "that guy," the 66-year-old Mexican is finally getting his.

The Los Angeles Times reports that Trejo will re-unite with Michelle Rodriguez for a revenge flick called Skinny Dip, which may end up being produced and co-directed by none-other-than Trejo's son Gilbert. While details are slim, the story has to do with a woman - presumably Rodriguez - who kills a police officer. It's also worth noting that while Machete ends with titles that promise sequels titled Machete Kills and Machete Kills Again, there hasn't been any forward motion on the idea.

Having gotten to see Machete last week, I can promise audiences that they are in for a real treat. While it's certainly not Oscar material, Trejo shows that he could have been making films like this since he first started acting. It's time for Danny Trejo to shine and we should all get ready for it.

Even in in its earliest installments, the Fallout series has featured voice acting from big Hollywood names. With Fallout: New Vegas, though, they've assembled an especially impressive cast.

A new press release sent out by Bethesda today details many of the big names attached to the game. There will be other celebrity cameos not listed here, though:

• Ron Perlman (“Hellboy”, “Sons of Anarchy”)
• Matthew Perry (“Friends”)
• Wayne Newton
• William Sadler (“Shawshank Redemption”)
• Zach Levi (“Chuck”)
• Felicia Day (“The Guild”)
• Michael Dorn (“Star Trek:The Next Generation”)
• Kris Kristofferson (“Blade Trilogy,”)
• Danny Trejo (“Machete”, “From Dusk Till Dawn”)
• John Doman (“Mystic River”, “The Wire”)
• Rene Auberjonois (“Boston Legal”, “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine”)

Bethesda explains some of these actor's roles on their blog. The highlight of this voice cast (for me anyway) is that Michael Dorn will be reprising the role of Marcus the Super Mutant from Fallout 2. A screenshot of the New Vegas Marcus was provided as well. There's no word on whether hes a playable companion but he looks like he kept himself in shape.

You’ve seen the Machete trailer they made before filming the movie, now get a look at the first Machete trailer put together afterwards. Robert Rodriguez has unveiled what he’s calling his “Illegal” trailer for Machete, so named because, somewhat unexpectedly, Machete’s getting all political.

I’m not sure this is the right format for political commentary. What happened to all the blood, guts, and boobies? Rightheaded or not Rodriguez put this trailer together and handed it over to AICN as a way of commenting on or cashing in on (you be the judge) the immigration debate raging in Arizona. You can guess which side Machete comes down on.

Except does anyone care what side he comes down on? The last thing I look for in a Machete movie is an immigration rights protest rally, but this trailer contains more than one. If you can look past that, it does some pretty badass things, seamlessly melding together footage lifted from the pre-shooting trailer with footage shot for the feature film which gives us our first look at Jessica Alba, Robert De Niro, Lindsay Lohan, Michelle Rodriguez, and Steven Seagal wielding a crazy ass Samurai sword. Click the image below to check out the trailer on AICN.

For comparison purposes, here's the Machete trailer shot for Grindhouse, before it was turned into an unexpectedly political feature film:

If you enjoyed Grindhouse (and really there’s no reason for you not to), you probably walked out of it saying, “Man, I hope they make those fake trailers into real movies.” Well your wish is finally coming true thanks to the mad Texican Robert Rodriguez spending the last year putting together Machete.

Having independently financed the film, Rodriguez recently began looking for distribution of his latest throwback slasher, and landed six studios on the hook; The Weinstein Company, Paramount, Sony, Lionsgate, Warner Bros, and Fox. After Rodriguez’ agent Robert Newman announced to potential buyers the terms of the purchase ($9 million up front and 10-12% on the back end) the herd was trimmed to just Paramount and Fox who both shrank from the offer when Newman changed the terms, raising the percentage even higher than the already unusually high 12%.

Deadline Hollywood announced that Fox hung around because they have another Rodriguez production on the way to the big screen in the form of Predators, which wrapped principle photography about a month ago. The real question after the announcement was why The Weinstein Company, who put out the original Grindhouse in 2007, didn’t step up to the plate to keep that relationship with Rodriguez alive. Of course with their monetary woes over the past year it’s easy to say that they couldn’t come up with the $9 million up front, but this blogger suspects it may also have to do with Grindhouse’s relatively shitty box office receipts.

Machete will be released on April 16, 2010, hopefully very wide so it can get as much money as possible and give Eli Roth the push to make Thanksgiving, which he’s already said he’s very interested in doing.

Danny Trejo is a badass. There’s no other way to describe him. Look at the dude’s sweet stache, his awesome tats, and his amazing long hair. If I described any other man, you would think he was a pansy, but a pansy Danny Trejo is not. And with Machete having just wrapped, his badass level is sure to rise within the next year.

And if that isn’t enough to convince you, apparently he’ll also have a role in Robert Rodriguez and Nimrod Antal’s Predators. In an interview with Punch Drunk Critics, Trejo seemed to let the cat out of the bag with little reserve. Maybe he was so caught up in his own badassness that he forgot that an announcement had yet to be made. He doesn’t give any detail as to the role he’ll be playing, but one can imagine that it will be badass.

,br> According to Trejo, filming on Predators will begin in “about a month.” As for Sin City 2, things aren’t looking any better. Trejo says that the movie is currently in the “thought process.” I guess not everything Danny Trejo says is badass.

Robert Rodriguez's Machete has been a strange project from the beginning. It's based on a fake trailer that ran before the little-seen Grindhouse, it stars Danny Trejo of all people, and somehow, amid all of Rodriguez's projects that he teases and then never actually makes, it's going into production this week.

Adding to the weirdness is the cast, which was confirmed this week in Variety. In addition to Trejo, the cast is a veritable grab bag of A-listers and nobodies and washed-up starlets: Robert De Niro, Jessica Alaba, Michelle Rodriguez, Steven Seagal, Lindsay Lohan, Cheech Marin, Don Johnson and Jeff Fahey have all taken roles in the film. How in the world all these people can possibly be part of the same project is beyond me, but I would love to be on set to see the fights about who gets the biggest trailer.